I-74 Traffic Pattern Changes In Moline

After the final piece of the arch was put in on Wednesday of the new I-74 bridge, the Illinois Department of Transportation quickly turned around and announced its next step in the process of building the bridge. The next step is to complete the interstate in Moline by the end of 2020.

On Thursday, the Illinois DOT announced that in order to start on finishing the bridge, they need to complete I-74 in Moline, which they hope to accomplish by the end of this year.

For the Illinois Department of Transportation to complete I-74 in Moline, they need to implement a new traffic pattern for Illinois-bound I-74, which will happen in two stages. Stage 1 starts today (Friday), and Stage 2 on Saturday.

On Friday, the Illinois DOT will have 7th Avenue closed to through traffic between 18th Street and the westbound I-74 exit ramp.

Also, eastbound and westbound I-74 traffic exiting at 7th Avenue will have to turn right and traffic on southbound 19th Street will need to turn right onto westbound 7th Street.

These closures are to allow contractors to restripe and sign the roadway for the upcoming I-74 detour.

On Saturday, May 9th, eastbound I-74 through traffic will be detoured to Interstate 280.

Traffic going to Avenue of the Cities or towards Galesburg that uses the I-74 bridge will be required to exit at 7th Avenue. Traffic will be directed to take southbound 19th Street to Avenue of the Cities to get back on eastbound I-74.

The new detour will allow the two lanes of traffic to continuously flow through the intersection of 7th Avenue and 19th Street. This means eastbound I-74 traffic will not have to stop at the traffic signal. The eastbound I-74 detour will allow contractors to continue reconstructing the interstate in Moline.

The River Drive ramp will also remain open.

These detour routes will remain in place until the new westbound bridge into Iowa is complete. This is expected to be finished at the end of 2020.