MOLINE, Ill. — Construction on a new downtown sky bridge is expected to wrap up in the summer of this year.
Officials say the bridge will connect the new train station called the Q, with the central station bus and parking complex just on the other side of the railroad tracks. The new walkway is part of a bigger plan to bring passenger rail to the Quad Cities, from Chicago, to Moline.
"Basically, so that anybody that would come or go from the community here would be able to utilize mass transit through their entire journey," Moline Municipal Services Manager Rodd Schick said Monday, June 22.
Work on the bridge tower has been completed. Next is the construction of the bridge itself. The line from Chicago to Moline has been discussed for years, but there still has been no progress on the rail line itself from Bureau to Rock Island County, despite support in Illinois for it.
"We fully expect the passenger rail service to be coming here in the very near future," Schick said Monday.
Schick also weighed in that bridge was planned well in advance to provide an extra amenity to the community, once passenger rail actually comes.