MOLINE, Illinois -- Drivers heading from downtown Moline into Iowa via the Interstate 74 Bridge have a slightly new route option to get across the bridge.
Here are the two options, explained by leaders with the I-74 Mississippi River Bridge project:
Option 1: You can continue to use 19th Street to River Drive to get onto Iowa-bound I-74.
But if there is a train --
Option 2: You can take the newly-constructed I-74 on-ramp at 6th Avenue. This takes drivers onto the ramp, over the railroad, and back onto River Drive, to continue onto the old I-74 on-ramp. To get to this new ramp, head northbound on 19th Street (like you normally would to get onto Iowa-bound I-74), turn right onto 6th Avenue, and then left onto the new ramp. One lane will be set to make a U-turn off that ramp and then back onto River Drive.
Drivers will be notified of train delays on I-74, Avenue of the Cities and 19th Street. That way you'll know when to take the 6th Avenue ramp option.
This new option begins on Wednesday, November 27, but come late December drivers will be able to use the new Iowa-Bound lanes off Avenue of the Cities.
Instead of exiting at Avenue of the Cities and taking 19th Street, Iowa-bound traffic can stay on I-74 all the way to the Mississippi River. You will then get off around 7th Avenue or merge into a single lane onto I-74.