Pritzker, QC leaders celebrate $65M I-280 project completion

Completion of a $65.7 million resurfacing project to make the Interstate 280 bridge a smoother, safer ride brought Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and regional leaders together to celebrate Wednesday at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center in Rock Island.  They were joined at the Nov. 29 event by representatives of the trades to announce the […]

Completion of a $65.7 million resurfacing project to make the Interstate 280 bridge a smoother, safer ride brought Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and regional leaders together to celebrate Wednesday at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center in Rock Island.  They were joined at the Nov. 29 event by representatives of the trades to announce the culmination of the multi-year project to install a new deck on the Sgt. John F. Baker Jr. Mississippi River Bridge I-280 Bridge. The upgrade was made in conjunction with the Iowa Department of Transportation, which contributed $18.9 million to the improvements.  Leaders including the governor and Illinois state Rep. Gregg Johnson, D-East Moline, also highlighted the importance of that critical Rebuild Illinois project and others in the region in increasing connectivity and the economic viability of the bi-state region. Improvements were long overdue on the Quad Cities area bridge which carries more than 28,000 vehicles a day – a fifth of them trucks, the governor said. “Since its opening in 1973 the bridge deck had never been replaced,” Mr. Pritzker added. “It’s a remarkable fact; not once in 50 years. Decades of neglect led to uneven surfaces and frequent congestion and dangerous conditions.” The restoration of the Baker Bridge included replacing that old deck, repainting the bridges to preserve the steel substructure and updating the lighting infrastructure. In addition, workers resurfaced I-280 from the bridge to just east of the Milan Beltway as well as ramps on the Centennial Expressway interchange. “When we make smart investments in the roadways that working families and businesses rely on, we’re constructing a better future for the entire region — one where parents and their children can commute with confidence and where new factories and distribution centers are choosing to locate in Illinois, so they can reliably ship their products across the nation,” Mr. Pritzker said.

Bridges drive development

“One thing that always comes to mind when I talk about our area is the tremendous potential that we have. Geographically, we are ideally situated to be a major hub of shipping and transportation,” Rep. Johnson told the crowd. “Taking advantage of this reality helps drive the development of our advanced manufacturing technology.” Mr. Johnson also said the Quad Cities is one community and “just as our economy will be stronger because of this bridge, every community becomes stronger when we build bridges between people.” The governor echoed that message in comments to the QCBJ following the event.  “I’m kind of excited about what’s happening here and I agree with a lot of what Rep. Johnson said talking about the economic development aspect of infrastructure investing here because I’m working very hard to bring distribution center and factories and when you're on the border you maybe have the opportunity to win some business just across the border,” Mr. Pritzker said. The governor said he’s been aggressive in making the “right outbound calls” to make that happen. “Right now lots of businesses are looking to expand and if you’ve got the properties particularly here in the Quad Cities, I’m all about selling that and telling them that if you come here then you can get your project done in the next 24 months,” he said. The governor and other speakers also lauded the skilled laborers who did the work on the bridge and highway. “To all the trades people who are here and those beyond this room whose high-quality skills made this highway project possible – including especially members of Laborers Local 309 – thank you for making our vision a reality,” Mr. Pritzker said. "I am grateful for the leaders that prioritized this funding and helped make this bridge a reality," added state Sen. Mike Halpin, D-Rock Island. "But I want to offer a special 'thank you' to the skilled tradesmen and women that built this bridge from the riverbed up. We are lucky to have an amazing workforce in Illinois and we are a better state because of it."

BHC grads say thanks

Featured at Wednesday's event also was a pair of women – Sonia Shepard and Sabrina Duncan – who graduated from the Black Hawk College Highway Construction Careers Training Program (HCCTP) and worked on the I-280 project.

While the Black Hawk program existed when he became governor, Mr. Pritzker said it and other college and trade union training programs were accelerated thanks to an investment in the Illinois Works program that was part of the infrastructure bill. The governor told the QCBJ, overall Illinois is putting $33 billion in surface infrastructure and the federal government is adding $20 billion. “So we’re going to have jobs in this industry for many years to come and so I hope that people see that and go get trained.” Two of those people who got that training – Ms. Shepard and Ms. Duncan – shared how grateful they are for the chance the state's investment gave them.  “I took this opportunity and I ran with it and appreciate everything that goes behind the HCCTP program,” Ms. Shepard told the crowd. The governor, in turn, lauded the women’s commitment to that program. “These ladies are amazing. They really are,” he told the QCBJ. “It’s hard” for many women seeking to get into the trades, the governor added. “Their friends don’t understand. ‘Why are you doing this? It doesn’t seem like you’d be welcome doing this’ and sometimes there are a lot of people in the trades who want to diversify but there also are some who are like ‘I don’t know.’  “So having them stand here and tell their stories, when people see that, I think when women see that, they’ll think ‘Oh, gosh I had never thought of that before,’” he said. 

Rebuilding Illinois still

Illinois Transportation Secretary Omer Osman also addressed the impact of Rebuild Illinois investments including the Baker Bridge project. “These investments in I-280 will extend the life of another critical border bridge and strengthen the robust multimodal infrastructure system in the Quad Cities,” he said. “I’m proud that we could make these improvements with our partners in Iowa. Working together, we have improved safety, mobility, and commerce between our two states and throughout the Midwest.” Other Quad Cities projects highlighted Wednesday included: $7 million to patch and resurface Illinois 5 (John Deere Road) in Moline between 16th and 35th streets as well as a $1.3 million project completed in September to patch and resurface Illinois 92 from Turkey Hollow Road to Illinois 192. Find more information about other Rebuild Illinois projects happening throughout the state here.

Passenger rail efforts continue

Also Wednesday, the governor told the QCBJ that work continues to bring passenger rail service to downtown Moline. Work is ongoing at a federal level and Mr. Pritzker said, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, is leading that charge.  “A lot of this work is making sure that we’ve the federal government putting pressure to get the Iowa folks aligned,” the governor said. “I think they want to do the right thing in Iowa but we haven’t gotten alignment.” Mr. Pritzker added: “I’m still confident about it but sometimes I think breaking people out of their traditional views of things takes a little time.”