On May 11th, the Illinois Department of Transportation presented seven options for the Mississippi River crossing between Rapids City and LeClaire. The DOT and the rest of the project team also presented plans to improve six miles of highway and three interchanges.
Becky Marruffo from the DOT office in Dixon says federal law requires the I-80 bridge project team to evaluate all the environmental impacts, including home relocations.
Alternatives six and seven would require the most home relocations. Those options feature a completely new bridge alignment, located either 600 feet east of the existing bridge or 21-hundred feet west.
From an engineering perspective, the team will also evaluate constructability and maintenance of traffic during construction.
The project website is I80MississippiBridge.com. Public comments received by Wednesday (5/25) will become part of the official record.
The I-80 bridge project team plans to hold another meeting this summer to present a narrowed list of options. And a final, preferred alternative may be presented next year.
