In mid-September, the I-74 bridge project manager continued to say the new, westbound lanes might open before winter.
But after a newspaper article revealed some difficult negotiations with one of its contractors, Danielle Alvarez says the Iowa-bound side won't open until much later, in the second half of next year.
That means parts of I-74 will continue to be closed in downtown Moline and Bettendorf. And drivers will have to use existing detours throughout the winter, next spring, and part of the summer.
In the next couple of weeks, the project team plans to announce improvements that will open access to certain areas.
Originally the I-74 team said the 1.2 billion dollar project would take 3-and-a-half years.
Lunda Construction is the main contractor building the bridge across the Mississippi River. More information is HERE.
