ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) were joined today by Quad Cities officials and community leaders to celebrate the completion of a multiyear project to install a new deck on the Interstate 280 Sgt. John F. Baker Jr. Mississippi River Bridge in Rock Island County.
The new deck improvements have made the bridge a smoother, safer ride on one of the state’s top travel corridors. The project included patching and resurfacing east of the bridge for a combined investment of $65.7 million and was made possible by Pritzker's bipartisan Rebuild Illinois capital program and a partnership with Iowa.
“This is exactly what Rebuild Illinois, our state’s massive infrastructure modernization program, is all about to make life better and easier for our people,” Gov. JB Pritzker said in a press release. “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.”
First opened in 1973, the Baker Bridge carries over 28,000 vehicles daily, around 20% of which are trucks. The new deck is the first replacement on the bridge since opening.
The project began in 2021 with a $49.7 million investment in the demolition and replacement of the westbound deck, followed by the eastbound deck in 2022. The final stage of the project consisted of patching and resurfacing I-280 from the bridge to the Illinois 92 interchange and was combined with another $16 million improvement that extended the works from the Illinois 92 interchange to east of the Milan Beltway. Lighting and painting upgrades were also added on Illinois 92.
Throughout the project, more than 6.5 miles of I-280 through the Illinois communities of Moline, Rock Island, Milan and Coal Valley were improved. The interstate is the major route taking drivers to the Quad City International Airport, which generates almost $650 million in economic impact and supports around 4,400 jobs, according to an IDOT analysis of the state's airports.
“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,” Illinois Transportation Secretary Omer Osman said in the press release. “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.”
"I am grateful for the leaders that prioritized this funding and helped make this bridge a reality," State Sen. Mike Halpin (D-Rock Island) said in a release. "But I want to offer a special 'thank you' to the skilled tradesmen and women who 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."
"We call it the Quad Cities for a reason: every town on both sides of the river needs one another to thrive," State Rep. Gregg Johnson (D-East Moline) said. "This bridge is not just connecting two neighboring states, it is connecting one community split by a mighty river."
“It’s innovative infrastructure projects like these that do so much for the local community and the Midwest overall. I’m pleased that this project not only creates jobs and makes the roadway safer, but also helps our economy grow,” Mike Thoms, Rock Island Mayor, said in the release.
“Moline is thankful for each and every investment in its critical infrastructure as well as investments in our regional infrastructure,” Moline Mayor Sangeetha Rayapati said in a release. “Support from Springfield is critical in our no-state region and we appreciate it.”
The I-280 repairs were one of many made possible by Rebuild Illinois this construction season in the Illinois Quad Cities, including $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.
Across the state, Rebuild Illinois is investing a total of $33.2 billion over six years, creating jobs and promoting economic growth. Rebuild Illinois is not only the largest capital program in state history, but also the first that touches all modes of transportation: roads and bridges, transit, waterways, freight and passenger rail, aviation, and bicycle and pedestrian accommodations.