From left, Diane Campione, P.E., S.E., senior project manager at Benesch; Becky Marruffo, studies and plans engineer for IDOT’s District 2; and Amber Petkevicius, P.E., take part in a June 26 groundbreaking ceremony for the new Interstate 74 Mississippi River Bridge at Leach Park in Bettendorf, Iowa.
Hanson’s Amber Petkevicius, P.E., a transportation engineer in Oak Brook, Illinois, joined Benesch representatives and Illinois and Iowa officials at a groundbreaking ceremony for a new bridge across the Mississippi River.
A crowd that included Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner gathered in the afternoon June 26 for the event, which was held at Leach Park in Bettendorf, Iowa. The new, $400 million Interstate 74 Mississippi River Bridge between Bettendorf and Moline, Illinois, will replace two structures: a westbound bridge that was completed in 1935 and an eastbound span that opened in 1960. Increased traffic congestion over the pair of structurally obsolete suspension bridges led to planning a new structure and improving connected roads in the Quad Cities to meet anticipated future traffic demand and improve safety.
The new basket-handle, true-arch twin bridge will feature four lanes in each direction, full shoulders, a path for pedestrians and bicyclists and a pedestrian overlook at the center of the arch. The Iowa Department of Transportation, which is leading the bridge project, has partnered with the transportation department in Illinois on a corridor improvement stretching from Avenue of the Cities in Moline to 53rd Street in Davenport, Iowa. Alfred Benesch and Co. led the design effort for the north and central sections and is the corridorwide coordinator for the project’s 7 miles of corridor improvements.
The new, $400 million Interstate 74 Mississippi River Bridge between Bettendorf, Iowa, and Moline, Illinois, will replace two structures: a westbound bridge that was completed in 1935 and an eastbound span that opened in 1960.
Hanson, as a subconsultant to Benesch, has provided design services for the reconstruction of I-74 from the river into part of Moline; preparation of a corridor-wide transportation-management plan; geotechnical engineering for the corridor; design of three retaining wall sections; traffic signal design and temporary traffic control in downtown Bettendorf; and development, hosting and maintenance of a web-based project management system.
“Amber has been Hanson’s project engineer on this project since it started in 2009,” said John Nelson, P.E., a senior project manager in Oak Brook. “She has done an outstanding job overseeing plan preparation for multiple construction contracts. With Amber’s attention to detail, her drive to always deliver her best effort and her perseverance to expect the same from her team, she has served our customers well.”
The $1 billion project includes improvements to local roads on either side of the Mississippi — in Bettendorf and Davenport in Iowa and Moline and Rock Island in Illinois. Bridge construction began in July just east of the existing structure, and the project is expected to be complete in 2021.