To ensure the public’s safety, a portion of the Mississippi River Trail (MRT) located along the levee in Bettendorf has been closed beginning today, Aug. 3, the City of Bettendorf announced.
The MRT will stay closed into September as crews continue demolition of the old Interstate 74 Bridge in the area immediately adjacent to the trail.
Trail users will find that the detour generally will use 12th Street, the newly constructed Urban Park Recreational Trail underneath the new I-74 Bridge, 15th Street, Grant Street, and 17th Street. The marked route will direct pedestrians and cyclists safely around the construction zone.
The Helm Group is tasked with demolition of the once-iconic twin-suspension bridge, which was replaced by a new $1 billion award-winning I-74 Bridge. After a multi-decade Quad Cities battle for funding, the new bridge opened to great fanfare on Dec. 1, 2022.
The eastbound span was imploded on Sunday, June 18, as hundreds of spectators gathered around the old Interstate 74 Bridge in Moline and Bettendorf to witness the historic series of implosions.
At this time, the Iowa Department of Transportation has not yet announced when the contractor plans to use controlled explosives to remove the suspension cables and towers on the westbound bridge.
The old Illinois-to-Iowa span first opened as a two-way bridge in 1935.
The entire demolition project for both spans is expected to be completed by Helm Group by August 2024.
