Quad Cities dads within earshot of the old Interstate 74 Bridge rang in Father’s Day 2023 with a big – if brief – bang on Sunday, June 18.
Hundreds of spectators of all ages also lined the Moline and Bettendorf riverfronts and took advantage of the area’s river bluffs to witness the historic series of implosions used to drop a pair of towers and key structural cables on the eastbound span of the once-iconic twin-suspension bridge.
The old Illinois-to-Iowa span first opened as a two-way bridge in 1935. The implosion marked the first time explosives were employed in what had been a painstaking, multi-step process to remove both spans of a bridge that the Illinois and Iowa Department of Transportation (DOTs) say once “provided an important east-west link in the nation’s transportation network.”
That overtaxed and deteriorating twin-span suspension bridge eventually outlived its usefulness. And after a multi-decade Quad Cities battle for funding it was replaced by the $1 billion award-winning new Interstate 74 Bridge which opened to great fanfare on Dec. 1, 2022.
Meanwhile, demolition of the old structure has and will continue. Later this summer, the Helm Group is expected to once again use explosives to remove structural elements on the westbound suspension span (Iowa bound) which first opened in 1960 to accommodate exploding vehicle traffic.
The entire demolition project for both spans is expected to be completed by Helm Group by August 2024.
Among those recording the eastbound span’s historic demolition Sunday was QCBJ’s Jesse Codling, who recently joined the Creative Development team. He joined a festive crowd on Moline’s Mississippi Riverfront near the Kone Tower and the Spiegel building.
https://www.facebook.com/QCBJournal/videos/808275687221794
Spectators lined up near the I-74 Bridge riverfront area also took to social media to share the nostalgic party atmosphere gathered for Sunday’s brief show.
The Iowa and Illinois DOTs also shared the event on the I-74 bridge website and on Facebook along with a thank you to all the organizations that were required to pull it off. That included the bridge’s demolition contractor – “Great job by the Helm team this morning!” the DOTs said Sunday.
On demolition day, local law enforcement agencies also were out in force both on land and on the water to manage and help record the event.
Moline Police Department’s Marine 11, for example, shared a view of the implosion here. The Bettendorf Fire Rescue Department also posted a video of their Marine 1 river view of the explosion of the partial demolition here.
The long awaited demolition appeared to be uneventful. The navigation channel at the I-74 bridge reopened to river traffic at 7 p.m. on Sunday. DOT did warn boaters to proceed with caution through the channel and minimize their wake as crews continue to remove debris. Areas outside the main navigation channel will remain closed for up to 72 hours.
Local law enforcement will be on site monitoring the river.
Sunday’s demolition required coordination among multiple agencies and organizations. Among them were the Coast Guard, Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Environmental Protection Agency, local and federal highway officials, and the railroads. Even the Federal Aviation Administration was involved since the bridge is in an approach corridor for one of the Quad Cities International Airport’s runways.
The demolition would not have happened, authorities said, without the efforts of all those groups. Following Sunday’s implosion, the DOTs singled out some of them on its Facebook page in the wake of Sunday’s series of implosions in this post:
“A big THANK YOU to Bettendorf Police Department, Bettendorf Fire Department, Moline Police Department, Moline Fire Department, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Illinois Department of Natural Resources and many others for making this a safe, ‘explosive’ day! Hats off to the vigilant team at Bettendorf Police Department who went above and beyond dedicating many of their officers today.
“We can’t thank everyone enough for their help and we look forward to working with you again on the next BOOM!”
