Interstate 74 in Iowa - Route Description

Route Description

I-74 begins at a trumpet interchange with I-80 on the northern edge of Davenport where it heads to the south. From I-80 to the East 67th Street overpass, the freeway is surrounded by farmland on either side. South of the overpass, it passes a residential area to the east and a commercial area to the west. The East 53rd Street exit provides access to shopping centers on both sides of the interstate.

Continuing south between East 53rd Street and Spruce Hills Drive, I-74 goes through an area of sparse development. What businesses there are have frontages on either Elmore Avenue to the west or Utica Ridge Road to the east; the backs of these businesses abut the freeway. At the Spruce Hills Drive exit, U.S. Route 6 (US 6) joins from the west. Nearly 1⁄₃ miles (0.54 km) to the west, Spruce Hills Drive becomes Kimberly Road, which carries US 6 through Davenport until it intersects I-280 on the western edge of the Quad Cities.

South of Spruce Hills Drive, I-74 runs parallel to the eastern leg of Kimberly Road, which turned south at its intersection with Spruce Hills Drive. The freeway curves slightly to the southeast and enters Bettendorf. It crosses Duck Creek and meets Middle Road at a diamond interchange.

As I-74 and US 6 head down a hill towards the Mississippi River, a series of exit and entrance ramps connect the freeway to US 67, which runs northbound along State Street and southbound along Grant Street. The interstate passes over US 67 and railroad tracks beloning to the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad on an elevated highway, which serves as the approach to the Interstate 74 Bridge over the Mississippi River. Despite the singular name, the crossing is actually two twin bridges which each carry one direction of traffic to and from Moline, Illinois.