I-74 bridge to open next month, year late and $74M over bid

BETTENDORF, Iowa (AP) — The new Interstate 74 bridge at Bettendorf is set to open next month, a year late and nearly $75 million over the original bid. The Quad-City Times reports that a public ceremony is set for Dec. 1 to give residents walk-on access to the new bridge that spans the Mississippi River, connecting Iowa to Illinois. Officials say the twin-span bridge will open to traffic in the days after the ceremony. The Iowa-bound portion of the bridge was to have opened by the end of 2020, while the Illinois-bound span was set to open at the end of this year. The Iowa Department of Transportation has also authorized up to $74.5 million in additional construction costs, pushing the price tag to $396 million.