(Photo By Flickr User Trails for Illinois)

Newsline: Quad Cities, Iowa/Illinois & Interstate 74

Iowa transportation officials have approved $16 million to pay for nighttime work on the Interstate 74 bridge over the Mississippi River in the Quad Cities because of delays blamed on an icy winter followed by spring flooding.

The Quad-City Times, The Associated Press, and KWQC-TV have made a report that the Iowa Department of Transportation allocated the money to fund overtime needed to ensure the westbound bridge is finished in the first half of 2020.

Danielle Alvarez, the Iowa agency’s project manager, says the $16 million will pay for additional labor and second-shift work.

Alvarez says a cold winter followed by flooding have made it unsafe to use extra-high cranes needed to install basket-handle style arches on the bridge connecting Iowa and Illinois.

Despite the extra cost, the bridge is expected to cost less than the budgeted $1.2 billion.