IDOT begins major I-74, John Deere Road interchange project in Moline

The Illinois Department of Transportation and the city of Moline announced the start of a major reconstruction of the Interstate 74 and John Deere Road (Illinois 5) interchange, IDOT said in a release.

IDOT officials, the city of Moline, local officials and community leaders marked the start of the work, which the department called another major Quad Cities project made possible by Gov. JB Pritzker's Rebuild Illinois capital program.

According to the release, the project will convert the interchange from a cloverleaf design to a diverging diamond and add a lane in each direction to I-74. IDOT said it is the final piece to making the interstate six lanes through the Quad Cities and to enhancing safety and mobility in the region.

IDOT listed the overall project cost at $129 million. The release's subject line referred to the work as a two-year, $95.8 million improvement.

Background

According to IDOT's project page, this section of I-74 runs north-south and was built in the 1970s, along with Illinois 5 (John Deere Road), which runs east-west. The agency says the project proposes improvements to I-74 from south of 27th Street to south of Illinois 5, and on Illinois 5 from 16th to 38th streets.

IDOT has said on its project materials that it chose the diverging diamond because cloverleaf interchanges have tight curves and short merging lanes that contribute to crashes. In a diverging diamond, traffic briefly crosses to the opposite side of the road, which the department says eliminates dangerous left turns across oncoming traffic.

The city of Moline previously said preliminary work at the interchange began in August to prepare the area for the full reconstruction. According to the city, the full project also includes expanding I-74 between 27th Street and the Rock River, reconstructing portions of John Deere Road and surrounding streets, and replacing I-74 bridges, with major construction set to span two years.

More information is available on IDOT's featured projects page for Rock Island County.

Source: the original release