If all goes according to plan, construction of the new I-74 bridge will begin this summer. Tuesday the Iowa Department of Transportation opened bids for the project connecting Moline with Bettendorf, across the Mississippi River.
Transportation Planner, Sam Shea, says five companies submitted bids to build the new bridge and approaches on both sides of the river, ranging from 322 to 416 million dollars.
"Our initial estimates were right in the 400 million range so these are all pretty close, with a couple of the lower bidders down at the 322-350 mark. If those end up being responsible and responsive bidders, that'll be a nice cost saving for the Illinois and Iowa DOT's."
Shea says the next step, reviewing the bids, could take up to a month.
"Our contracts office will now go through those bids and determine which ones are "responsive." So they'll determine who meets various standards that we require for the project."
He expects construction to start in July.
Preliminary work in both Moline and Bettendorf started a couple of years ago - buying property, clearing the land, and re-configuring downtown streets.