$15M-plus awarded to upgrade QC highways in Illinois, Iowa

More than $15 million in Surface Transportation Block Grants has been awarded to highway projects in four Iowa and Illinois cities and one county by the Quad Cities Transportation Policy Committee.

Projects in Rock Island, Moline, Rock Island County, Davenport and Bettendorf made the cut for $15,186,379 STBG-funded projects that will be implemented in the next five years, the Bi-State Regional Commission said in a news release.

That regional planning agency and its volunteer local government board members are the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Quad Cities. In that role, the commission delegates transportation programming authority to the Transportation Policy Committee to solicit applications and award funds. 

That includes the STBG to be awarded in the Illinois-Iowa Quad Cities. Those funds are typically awarded to road projects that improve the conditions and performance of public roads. Government jurisdictions in the MPO can apply for STBG for roads classified as a collector or above. Projects can include reconstruction, resurfacing, and pavement rehabilitation, as examples.

The projects awarded recently by the Bi-State transportation panel are listed below by state.

Illinois STBG funds

The total amount requested for the Illinois Quad Cities was $15.3 million. The total amount of federal STBG funds available was $4.7 million. The awarded projects include: 

• Moline: $1,217,689 for the resurfacing of 16th Street from the Avenue of the Cities to 19th Avenue.
• Rock Island County: $1,680,000 for the pavement rehabilitation of County Highway 78. (The Rock Island-Milan Parkway, east to First Street/Airport Road to U.S. 67.) 
• Rock Island: $2,141,556 for the reconstruction of 31st Avenue from 11th to 17th streets. 

Iowa STBG Funds

The total amount of funds requested from the Iowa Quad Cities was $13.1 million. The amount of federal STBG funds available was $10.1 million. The awarded projects are as follows: 

• Davenport: $8,133,157 for reconstruction of West 53rd Street, Brady Street to Welcome Way. It excludes the Welcome Way and Brady Street intersections, Welcome Way to Candlelight Creek, and Northwest Boulevard to Pine Street. 
• Bettendorf: $2,013,467 for the reconstruction of Maplecrest Road from 18th to 29th streets. 

STBG project applications are evaluated equally in the categories of Level of Service, Safety and Physical Condition, Bi-State said in the release. Projects may also receive additional consideration for demonstrating the expected ability to improve air quality, facilitate freight movement, aid connectivity, or improve travel for employment centers.

After a point value is assigned to each item considered in the evaluation, the points for each project are totaled. 

Projects awarded in this round were the top-ranking projects received. For more information on the STBG evaluation process go here or contact Bi-State Regional Commission at (309) 793-6300.