A proposed eight-story pedestrian elevator to be built near the new Interstate 74 bridge as part of Bettendorf’s new Urban Park will not be constructed in the foreseeable future.
Bettendorf city officials on Monday, Feb. 13, said they are reevaluating plans for the elevator because of drastically rising costs and supply chain issues.
When project engineers first estimated the price tag of the elevator project in April 2017, it totaled $2.2 million. That estimated cost now is listed at $4.6 million and still rising due to supply chain issues and inflation rates, city officials said in a new release issued Monday.
“Now that the new bridge is complete and the old bridge is being demolished, there are exciting plans to transform the areas underneath and west of the bridge,” said Bettendorf City Administrator Decker Ploehn. “We want to make sure we carefully consider and coordinate all of these developments to set up downtown Bettendorf for a bright future.”
Mr. Ploehn added that in the future, the “city council could consider reevaluating the elevator. However, in light of these rising costs as well as several tax proposals being considered by the Iowa Legislature this year, we want to be careful with how we spend taxpayer dollars.”
The plans near the new bridge include completing an Urban Park, which will be located underneath the bridge and include a walkable corridor entwined with decorative rock patterns that provide a permeable surface to help with water infiltration before that water reaches the Mississippi River. Those park plans included the construction of the elevator.
Last fall, Brent Morlok, the City of Bettendorf’s city engineer, told the QCBJ that the second phase of the Urban Park project – which included the construction and installation of the elevator – was expected to move forward this month with bidding on the project. However, even at that time, he was concerned about supply chain issues and rising costs for the elevator.
Bettendorf officials on Monday added that the apparent elimination of the elevator will not impact access for cyclists, walkers and runners to the I-74 Bike and Pedestrian Trail. The entrance point, located at the base of the on-ramp on the west side, is ADA-accessible and located right next to a public parking lot off Grant Street that is free for anyone to use.
“Our city council’s goals for the past few years have been to continue the growth and development west of the new I-74 Bridge,” Jeff Reiter, assistant city administrator and economic development director, said in the release. “With that, exciting opportunities are ahead for the city. Remnant parcels from the Iowa Department of Transportation have been acquired and property transitions are beginning to take shape.
“We are excited for some great development projects that will be coming our way in the next couple years,” he added.
As for the west side of the bridge – called the West Bridge District – there are plans in the works to redevelop the land between the Urban Park and Sixth Street, south of Grant Street, with a mix of residential, office, retail, and greenspace areas that protect the historic character of the neighborhood as well as connect to the Mississippi River and the Mississippi River Trail.
