The AARoads Blog

Almost devoid of snow, U.S. 61 northbound after its split with U.S. 67 in downtown Davenport, Iowa. A full day of rain washed most of the snow away, but it would return with a vengeance later Christmas day.

More snow fell then forecast, with the Quad Cities area receiving 3 to 4 inches. This photo, taken at 7:47 am, shows the condition of Interstate 74 near Exit 4 to U.S. 67. The overpass above was replaced in 2009, and the Clearview-fonted signage below was added in place of an overhead assembly.

Snow covered Illinois-Iowa Memorial Bridge across the Mississippi River.
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Took an afternoon drive from the Quad Cities up to Dubuque and back utilizing portions of the Great River Road system.

U.S. 30 joins U.S. 61’s freeway briefly at DeWitt, Iowa. The exit numbering of the U.S. 61 interchanges shifts to U.S. 30’s mileage along their shared alignment.

U.S. 61 varies between a four-lane freeway and four-lane expressway between Interstate 80 and its merge with U.S. 151 near Dubuque Regional Airport. U.S. 151 merges with the divided highway at a trumpet interchange.

U.S. 52 enters Dubuque from the southeast and joins U.S. 61 & 151 from Bellevue Road.

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Iowa trip day 2

Continuing the drive north from Sikeston to the Quad Cities, clouds dominated the day, and from Springfield northward, snow flakes joined the fray. Generally traveled northward along Interstate 55, with a loop onto the new I-64, I-270, and I-255 around St. Louis. Took Interstate 155 to Interstates 74/474 to the Quad Cities in light snow. Saw a pair of cars dislodged from the road, one of which was wrapped in barbed wire, the other perpendicular to the westbound carriageway within the median…

Southbound Interstate 55 at the loop ramp onto Interstate 57’s northbound beginning. It appears that the I-57 shield may be covering up a square shield?

No Interstate 57 shields were posted between the beginning and Exit 4. We settled for this shot on County Road B.

An older spec Interstate 55 Missouri shield in place on U.S. 60 eastbound at the northbound loop ramp to Interstate 55 at Interstate 57’s northbound beginning.

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What began as a local river crossing in 1935, the Interstate 74 & U.S. 6 bridges (Iowa-Illinois Memorial Bridge) across the Mississippi River between Moline and Davenport are reaching the end of their life span. Though never built to Interstate standards, the 1935-northbound bridge and 1959-built southbound span were added to the Interstate system in 1974. Each suspension bridge carries two lanes without left or right-hand shoulders. The safety issues alone warrant a change, but the bridge design does not allow for any expansion, with a pony truss style siding constructed along east side. Additionally the bridge was already over capacity by 1998, with 74,000 vehicles per day (vpd) crossing a span that can only adequately handle 64,000 vpd.

Picture of the Illinois-Indiana Memorial Bridge from the north banks of the Mississippi River at Bettendorf. A levee system protects the downtown area of Bettendorf from the river. Along the barrier is a walk/bike path, boat ramp, park area, and the Isle of Capri Casino.

Forward to May 23, 2006, the Iowa and Illinois Departments of Transportation held a joint public meeting to select the recommended bridge type for the Interstate 74 replacement. Four designs were considered until the end, the first consisted of a basket handle true arch twin bridge, essentially spans side by side with arches that converge at the top. Second on the list was a modified basket handle tied arch bridge design, with vertical pier and hangers. This configuration is similar in design to what is used for Interstate 280’s crossing of the Mississippi River west of Rock Island, with cross members joining two sets of arches on each span. Design three was similar to the basket handle design but with tied arches. The final design consisted of a cable stayed sing bridge with a semi-fan stay arrangement, essentially a cable-stayed bridge with three support towers. View the designs for yourself here.

The Iowa-Illinois Memorial Bridge travels 66 feet above the Mississippi and is 5,148 feet in overall length. Its name honored the veterans of World War I during its dedication (northbound span) on November 18, 1935. The southbound bridge was built for $8.1 million in 1958, with both open for traffic after a 1959 closure of the original for repairs on January 20, 1960.

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Peoria includes two Interstates, the main route through the city, I-74, and the bypass route, I-474. Lets take a look at the two and more…

Interstate 74 cuts a swath through the downtown area, meandering along a curved path from junction Interstate 474 & Illinois 6 northwest of the city to a brief depressed section of freeway near the central business district. A high-level cantilever bridge carries the freeway across the Illinois River into East Peoria. Once across, the road bisects hills on a southeastern trajectory to Interstate 474, Interstate 155, and Morton.

Interstate 74 descends toward the Perry Avenue under crossing through the eastern outskirts of downtown Peoria. U.S. 24 & Illinois 29 meet the freeway ahead.

Road work recently saw completion on a multi-year project to upgrade Interstate 74 through the Peoria metro area. Begun in 2002 with reconstruction of the North Street and Forrest Hill Bridges, work continued through Fall 2007.

Every bridge over Interstate 74 was reconstructed or replaced and now features ornamental columns. Pictured here is the Forest City Avenue overpass at the Gale Avenue (Exit 90) off-ramp of I-74 east.

Highlights of the near $500 million work included the construction of new ramps at Sterling Avenue, the raising of the Adams Street bridge over Interstate 74, rebuilding of both freeway carriageways, landscaping, and other improvements. Work affected 11 miles of roads, 32 bridges were either removed or replaced, 8 bridges were widened or reconstructed, and two tunnel ramp tunnels were built. Additionally the interchange with the Industrial Spur was reconstructed from a trumpet into a directional interchange near the east end of the Murray Baker Bridge.

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Dubbed the Congestion Relief Project, the Illinois Tollway system, an integral part of Chicagoland’s highway network, is a series of construction projects aimed at modernizing and expanding the multiple-route system in northern Illinois. The overall project was approved in September 2004.

Interstate 355 northbound at Illinois 171.

One of the main aspects of the project was the modernization of the 20 main line toll collecting facilities. Work involved the conversion of the conventional toll booth barriers into a hybrid of high-speed electronic toll collection, called “open road tolling” and newly built attended toll booths for cash and coin based payment. The open road tolling works with I-Pass, a prepaid toll program that works with transponders affixed to car’s windshields that are read by sensors as drivers pass under pass readers at normal freeway speeds. Account holders may bypass the conventional toll booths, which were relocated to outside carriageways, on the tollway mainlines. Additionally I-Pass account holders are charged reduced rates.

Reaching the Des Plaines River Bridge on Interstate 355 north. Monuments are posted at each bridge end with “Veterans Memorial Tollway” inscribed on the columns.

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For those keeping track, add Illinois to the states that have adopted Clearview font on their highway signs. An informal list of states using the font include:

Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Texas in essentially all new sign installations

Virginia, Kentucky, Arkansas, Florida, Vermont, California and now Illinois that sporadically use Clearview.

Interstate 57 north and 70 east approaching their split. Even the Interstate shields include Clearview numbers. Thanks goes to Kerrie Smith for the photo taken 11/17/07!

I am sure that there are some states that I am missing, but the font is definitely pervading across the land at a rapid pace.

Interstate 355 (Veterans Memorial Tollway) opens to traffic on Monday November 12, 2007 between Interstates 80 and 55. The 12.5-mile freeway was built in three years after more than 10 years of delays caused by legal and funding issues. The 2005 toll increases throughout the Illinois Tollway network helped pay for completion of the $738 million route that includes a 1.25-mile Des Plaines River Valley bridge, the second longest span in the state. No extension southward is on the books at this time, but long range plans hint at a connection to the planned Illiana Expressway corridor.

New Interstate 355 will be open to bicyclists and walkers during a Veterans Day celebration to mark the completion of the roadway. 9,000 people are expected to attend.

Looking south on the new Interstate 355 near its terminus with Interstate 80. The Original Interstate 355 (North-South Tollway) opened in 1989. Photo taken by Bill Burmaster (10/13/07).

Meanwhile in North Carolina, sign crews will begin installing red, white, and blue Interstate 795 signs throughout the 20-mile plus route appoved by AASHTO this fall. Interstate 795 replaces U.S. 117 on a freeway northward from U.S. 70 at Goldsboro to U.S. 264 at Wilson and joins U.S. 264 west to Interstate 95. U.S. 117 signs along the north-south freeway will be moved onto the original U.S. 117 alignment in the process. Signing of the newest Interstate should be completed by Spring 2008.

Sources:

1 – “I-355 extension will open Nov. 12.” DailySouthtown, November 2, 2007.

2 – “NCDOT TO BEGIN INSTALLING I-795 SIGNS IN WAYNE, WILSON COUNTIES.” NCDOT, November 7, 2007.