Interstate 74 West - Quad Cities

The I-74/IL 110 freeway main line transitions into the Interstate 80 westbound main line as it leads north to Colona, East Moline, and Barstow.

06/21/22

Continuing west from the Big X Interchange with Interstate 80, I-74/280 travel uninterrupted to their separation at Exits 5 A/B.

06/21/22

I-74/280 switch places with parallel U.S. 6 at mile marker 11. Both roadways cross a BNSF Railroad line here.

06/21/22

The freeway arcs northwest across Mosquito Creek to run along the south side of the Rock River to a westbound weigh station.

06/21/22

I-74/280 parallel U.S. 6 just to the north at westbound weigh station near Moline.

06/21/22

I-74/280 enter Rock Island County at the westbound weigh station.

06/21/22

Interstate 74 branches north from I-280 at a cloverleaf interchange (Exit 5) with U.S. 6 in two miles.

06/21/22

The west end of U.S. 150 ties into U.S. 6 in south Moline nearby. There is no direct access to the route from I-74/280.

06/21/22

U.S. 6 continues west from the village of Coal Valley and Quad City International Airport (MLI), where the route turns north onto a freeway connecting with I-74/280 at Exit 5.

06/21/22

I-74/U.S. 6 overlap northward to Downtown Moline and across the Mississippi River Bridge into Bettendorf and Davenport, Iowa.

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Interstate 280 heads 8.21 miles west from I-74/U.S. 6 to Milan, Rock Island and across the Iowa state line into Davenport, Iowa.

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Exit 5 B follows from I-280 west for U.S. 6 east to MLI Airport.

06/21/22

Interstate 74 overtakes the freeway leading U.S. 6 north from 27th Street to span the Rock River along a six lane bridge.

05/25/08

Confirming markers for I-74/U.S. 6 west posted over the north banks of the Rock River. The pre-freeway alignment of U.S. 6 followed 27th Street nearby north to 19th Street in Moline.

06/21/22

A cloverleaf interchange joins IL 5 (John Deere Road) with I-74/U.S. 6 west at Exits 4 B/A. IL 5 comprises a 15 mile route from U.S. 67 at Rock Island to I-80, I-88 and IL 92 at East Moline.

06/21/22

IL 5 leads 10.8 miles east directly onto the eastbound beginning of Interstate 88. Prior to the designation of I-88 in July 1987, IL 5 extended east to Chicago along the Illinois East-West Tollway.

06/21/22

Exit 4 B departs I-74/U.S. 6 west for IL 5 (John Deere Road) east to East Moline, Carbon Cliff and Silvis. John Deere Boulevard leads 2.5 miles east to 70th Street for Black Hawk College.

06/21/22

Exit 4 A leaves I-74/U.S. 6 west for IL 5 (John Deere Road) west to Rock Island, Southpark Mall and Augustana College. IL 5 constitutes a controlled access arterial west to an interchange with Blackhawk Road at Rock Island-Milan Parkway south. Originally IL 5 lined 16th Street north to 36th Avenue west; John Deere Road was constructed west of Fruitland by 1985.¹

06/21/22

Ascending northward toward downtown Moline along Interstate 74/U.S. 6 west. The variable message sign was added by Spring 2008. Passing over the freeway ahead is 19th Street, which historically was apart of U.S. 6, U.S. 150, IL 2 and IL 92.

06/21/22

Meeting the freeway next at a diamond interchange (Exit 3) is Avenue of the Cities. Avenue of the Cities travels east from the intersection of 23rd Avenue and 16th Street in Moline across East Moline to Silvis. The road name was created in 2002 after the Friends of the Avenue community group lobbied successfully to have 23rd Avenue in Moline, 42nd Avenue in East Moline, and Colona Road in Silvis renamed to create a single business strip.²

06/21/22

27th Street passes over I-74/U.S. 6 west Exit 3 to adjacent 19th Street north. Avenue of the Cities links residential areas of west Moline with the commercial strip east to a three-wye intersection with 19th Street north to Silvis and former Colona Road east to IL 5 (John Deere Road) and Carbon Cliff. IL 2 followed the alignment east to 19th Street and IL 84 and 92 until the early 1970s. IL 80 followed the same alignment until the early 1960s.¹

06/21/22

Exit 2 to 7th Avenue and IL 92 serves interests to Downtown Moline and the Mississippi Riverfront, the Rock Island Arsenal, and Western Illinois University - Quad Cities.

06/21/22

I-74/U.S. 6 weave northward toward Downtown Moline adjacent to 19th Street. Construction of the new Mississippi River Bridge expanded I-74 westbound with a third general travel lane and an auxiliary lane to Exit 2.

06/21/22

Exit 2 represents the last exit from I-74/U.S. 6 west before the Mississippi River Bridge into Bettendorf, Iowa. IL 92 parallels 7th Avenue to the north along the couplet of 6th Avenue east / 4th Avenue west. IL 92 follows the original route of U.S. 150 west from 19th Street to 24th Street outside Downtown Rock Island.

06/21/22

A second reassurance marker posted north of the Avenue of the Cities entrance ramp precedes the 12th Avenue under crossing.

06/21/22

John Deere Pavilion and Vibrant Arena at The MARK, a sports and entertainment venue, lie six blocks west of I-74/U.S. 6 along River Drive. Formerly the TaxSlayer Center and Mark of the Quad Cities before that, the arena was home to the Quad City Mallards hockey club until 2018.

06/21/22

19th Street (old U.S. 6) passes under I-74/U.S. 6 at Exit 2 to 7th Avenue. 7th Avenue forms an arterial loop between 19th Street and 23th Street north to IL 92. Parallel IL 92 utilizes a couplet varying between 4th/5th/6th and 7th Avenues to 1st Avenue in Downtown Rock Island.

06/21/22

The arches from the Mississippi River Bridge rise appear along a six lane viaduct taking I-74/U.S. 6 over the Moline street grid east of Downtown.

06/21/22

Decorative pillars mark the start of the Mississippi River Bridge. A half diamond interchange links River Drive with I-74/U.S. 6 adjacent to the south banks of the river.

06/21/22

The new Mississippi River Bridge replaced the adjacent Iowa-Illinois Memorial Bridge. The former eastbound span for I-74 opened to traffic in 1960 while the old westbound crossing dated back to 1936. Both were demolished in 2023.

06/21/22

The first of four exits from Interstate 74 westbound in Iowa departs from the Mississippi River Bridge to U.S. 67. U.S. 67 joins the Bettendorf Riverfront and Downtown Davenport via River Drive and Grant / State Streets. U.S. 67 replaced U.S. 55 along River Drive and State Street east from the Government Bridge to Dubuque in 1934.¹

06/21/22

Costing nearly $1 billion, construction on the New Mississippi River Bridge got underway in 2017.³ The Iowa bound span opened to traffic on November 13, 2020.

06/21/22

Including at 14 foot wide multi use path,⁴ the Illinois bound span for I-74/U.S. 6 over the Mississippi River opened to traffic on December 2, 2021.

06/21/22

The 795 foot basket-handle, true arch spans support a 72 foot roadway accomodating six to eight overall lanes in both directions of I-74/U.S. 6.⁴

06/21/22

The Mississippi River Bridge arches rise to 245 above the water. Including the approaches, the total length of the span is 3,440 feet.⁴

06/21/22