Quad Cities bike and pedestrian path connects trails on opposite sides of the Mississippi River
Near the geographic center of what’s known as the Quad Cities, the Iowa-Illinois Memorial Bridge or “I-74 bridge” is the most traveled bridge in the region. It connects Moline, Ill., with Bettendorf, Iowa. Originally opened in 1935 as a single-suspension bridge, it became the only double-suspension bridge on the Mississippi River when a nearly identical suspension bridge was constructed in 1961 and connected to the 1935 bridge to ease traffic concerns.
This bridge was designed by Ralph Modjeski, who went on to become “America’s Greatest Bridge Builder”; he also designed the Government bridge in the same area.
After several studies were completed about the I-74 corridor, a federal decision to build a new bridge was signed in 2009. Construction on roads leading to the bridge began in 2012. Actual construction on the bridge didn’t start until 2017.
Connecting the states of Iowa and Illinois, I-74 serves as a primary crossing of the Mississippi River and is an important east-west link in the nation's transportation network.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held by the Iowa and Illinois departments of transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, and the Quad Cities communities in December 2021. More than 5,000 residents and visitors were able to walk on it before it opened to traffic the next day.