Interstate 74 in Iowa - History

History

I-74 was part of the original plans for building Iowa's interstate system. It would form the Iowa leg of a planned freeway from the Quad Cities to Cincinnati, Ohio. Its route through the Quad Cities closely resembles the path drawn up in the mid-1950s.

In the Iowa Quad Cities, I-74 opened in three segments beginning on August 30, 1968. On that day, the northernmost 3 miles (4.8 km), from I-80 to US 6, opened to traffic. The new freeway was built atop farmland west of Utica Ridge Road in the northeastern part of Davenport. The next section was built adjacent to the north–south portion of Kimberly Road, which then carried US 6 through Bettendorf. The segment ended where the interstate lined up with the older street. The eastbound exit and westbound entrance ramps at Kimberly Road now provide access to and from US 67. The middle section opened in 1971.

Another three years passed before the freeway was completed and opened to traffic. The twin spans of the I-74 Bridge had to be retrofitted to connect to the interstate. The Iowa-bound bridge was built as a Works Progress Administration project in 1934–35 and the Illinois-bound bridge was 24 years later. Prior to interstate construction, the I-74 Bridge terminated at State Street, the northbound lanes of US 67, in Bettendorf. To prevent traffic bottlenecks, traffic was prohibited from making left turns onto and off of the bridges. As a result, loop ramps diverted traffic onto Gilbert Street, one block south of State Street, which curved back to State Street at both ends thus allowing traffic to make the necessary left turns.

Construction of the interstate meant eliminating the at-grade intersections with State and Grant streets. I-74 was built as elevated highway from the bridges to a new overpass at Kimberly Road. The connections were completed and opened to traffic on November 26, 1974.