July 30, 2010 – (RealEstateRama) — Congressman Phil Hare (D-IL), a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, tonight voted for the Fiscal Year 2011 Transportation and Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act which included $1 million for the I-74 Bridge. This is in addition to the $1.2 million he secured last year.
“I remain committed to securing as much federal funding as possible to rebuild the I-74 Bridge,” Hare said. “A new bridge will create jobs, bolster economic development, and ensure Quad City residents can travel safely between Illinois and Iowa.”
Funding for this project would go toward critical preconstruction and construction activities including right-of-way acquisition, bridge replacement, and associated road work.
The I-74 Bridge corridor is structurally deficient and has maxed out in capacity, carrying nearly 30,000 more vehicles a day than it was originally designed to. Crashes along the I-74 corridor occur more than three times the national average compared to similar highways.
Hare and Congressman Bruce Braley (D-IA) previously sent a letter to House Transportation Committee leaders urging them to include a “mega project” grant fund in the next multi-year highway bill for infrastructure projects that are too large to receive adequate assistance through most traditional highway grant programs. A mega-project grant fund could help speed the completion of the new I-74 bridge by more quickly funding the project.
