Public hearing announced for I-80 Mississippi River Bridge study

DIXON – As part of the Interstate 80 Mississippi River Bridge study, the Illinois Department of
Transportation, in partnership with the Iowa Department of Transportation, will hold an online
public hearing and offer an in-person open house option to present study information, detail the
preferred alternative for the project, discuss potential impacts and receive input from the public.
The online hearing will be held at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29. People can register for the hearing
with their name and email address at I80MississippiBridge.com. In addition to a presentation
of exhibits and maps, the hearing will include a video and question-and-answer panel with
personnel from the Illinois and Iowa Departments of Transportation.

An in-person open house will be held at LeClaire City Hall, 325 Wisconsin St., LeClaire,
Iowa, on Wednesday, Oct. 30, with stakeholders welcome at any time between 1 and 3 p.m.
The in-person opportunity will include continuous video presentations, exhibit boards,
opportunities to speak with representatives of the project team and provide feedback. No
formal presentation will be given.

The I-80 Mississippi River Bridge was built in the 1960s, one of three major interstate bridges
in the Quad Cities. The bridge has required significant rehabilitation in recent years,
increasing traffic and crashes. The aging bridge continues to face costly maintenance
expenses, and the roadway design does not meet current standards.

The preferred alternative, combining improvements to the I-80 Mississippi River Bridge and
the I-88/I-80 interchange, was presented for public review and comment at a fourth, public
meeting last November. Since then, the project team has further refined the preferred
alternative based on public feedback and the ongoing priority of reducing public impacts
wherever possible.

Hearing materials will be available following the events at I80MississippiBridge.com.
Comments are always welcome. Those received through Tuesday, Nov. 13, will become part
of the hearing record. The project is currently in Phase I: Preliminary Engineering &
Environmental Studies, which is expected to conclude with a final report in early 2025. The
project is then expected to move to Phase II: Final Design & Construction Plans, with
construction tentative to begin in 2028. The project is being funded as part of the Rebuild
Illinois capital program, which is investing $33.2 billion into all modes of transportation.

About Paul Dymkowski

Paul has been the Program Director since 1991. You can hear Paul on-air weekdays at 9:30 am as host of Wheel-N-Deal and Saturday Mornings from 6 to 9 am as host of the Paul Dymkowski Show .
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