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Bettendorf Officials: I-74 Bridge Should be Done by 2021

City officials on both sides of the Quad Cities are preparing for two meetings on the I-74 Bridge project. The first meeting is Wednesday April 23rd, 2014. Cons...

City officials on both sides of the Quad Cities are preparing for two meetings on the I-74 Bridge project. The first meeting is Wednesday April 23rd, 2014.

Construction on the bridge should start by 2017. The bridge will have wider lanes and four lanes, instead of two. Wider lanes could avoid more major accidents. Two months ago, a 30 car pileup on the bridge sent 12 people to the hospital.

The current bridge was only built to carry about 48,000 cars. Now, crews estimate it carries about 80,000. The new bridge will be east of the current structure and have a bike path for pedestrians.

"I think people will literally come to that bridge, maybe even to the Quad Cities, just to see the Mississippi River from here," Bi-State Regional Commission Director Denise Bulat said of the new bridge.

Bettendorf City Administrator Decker Ploehn says the new bridge should be complete by 2021. Wednesday's meeting starts at 4 p.m. at the i-Wireless Center in Moline. Another meeting starts at 4 p.m. at the Waterfront Convention Center in Bettendorf on Thursday, April 24th, 2014. U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx will be at Thursday's meeting.

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