Free Republic

A 43-year-old Bettendorf man is facing felony charges after police say he stole a boat and floated down river into the Interstate 74 construction area while naked and untied several ropes that held together the barges Sunday. Tobias Tyrone Hartsfield, last known address in the 2200 block of Grant Street, was booked into the Scott County Jail around 9:30 p.m. on charges of first-degree theft, first-degree criminal mischief and second-degree mischief. At 8 p.m. Sunday, Bettendorf police responded to the I-74 Mississippi River Bridge project barges near the Isle of Capri Casino, 1777 Isle Parkway, for a report of a...

BLUEFIELD — Extending the King Coal Highway’s “bridge to nowhere” in Bluefield to the Airport Road area is still on track for next year. Del. Marty Gearheart, R-Mercer County, said the project remains on the Department of Highways six-year plan for a 2019 start. “Dirt should be moved next spring (2019),” he said. “It will be built when it is supposed to. It’s been part of the six-year plan and was not scheduled until next spring.” The bridge, which connects to Rt. 460 and then to Interstate 77, was finished almost 10 years ago but funding for the highway has...

Construction of Interstate 73 to Myrtle Beach has widespread support among key players in Washington, D.C., and is favored for financing when President Trump introduces an infrastructure package to Congress, according to U.S. Rep. Tom Rice. “The president has said he wants an infrastructure package, and we want to make sure that we are on the radar at the front of the line,” Rice told The Sun News in an interview this week. Rice says he’s held numerous meetings to help secure the $2.4 billion needed with top Trump administration officials, including D.J. Gribbin, special assistant to the president for...

More than 100 concerned residents peppered state and local officials Monday for information about the new Interstate 74 Bridge. Moline Mayor Stephanie Acri hosted the event, part of a series of casual meetings to share ideas and air concerns about the city. Experts on site included Ryan Hippen, construction field engineer for the Illinois Department of Transportation, and Danielle Mulholland, I-74 project engineer with the Iowa Department of Transportation. "I don't get tired of talking about this improvement," Hippen said. The basket handle true arch twin bridge is to cost an estimated $1.2 billion, and open late in 2020 after...

MOLINE -- Building the new Interstate 74 bridge will take years, but certification to bid on the jobs building it should only take about 90 days. The Illinois Department of Transportation held a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise certification and supportive services workshop Monday evening at the Moline Public Library, 3210 41st St. At the workshop, officials from IDOT shared information on how those who are in presumed disadvantaged groups can bid on contracts associated with the project. To qualify for DBE certification, the business owner must have a personal net worth of less than $1.32 million. Engineering consulting businesses must average...

A judge’s order could delay the start of construction on the next segment of the Winston-Salem Northern Beltway unless contested condemnation claims are resolved by this coming fall. Attorney Matthew Bryant said Forsyth County Superior Court Judge John Craig would be signing orders this week dismissing some new condemnation proceedings started recently by the N.C. Department of Transportation against some landowners in the beltway segment planned between Reidsville and New Walkertown roads. Those new condemnation proceedings were started as part of the state’s effort to acquire land for that beltway segment, which is scheduled to go to contract this fall....

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A member of the state Senate is upset the a new four-lane highway project planned for southern West Virginia has been able to jump ahead of some other longstanding road projects. Sen. Bob Plymale (D-Wayne) questioned state Transportation Secretary Paul Mattox on the sudden rise of the Hobet project during a legislative interim committee Monday at the state capitol. The 2.6 mile Hobet highway will take traffic from the U.S. Route 119-Route 3 intersection in Boone County up to the former Hobet mountaintop removal mining site which Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and others hope will be a...

Construction on the new Interstate 74 Bridge is supposed to be done by 2020, but money – and time – is running out. On Saturday, July 11th, 2015, Representative Cheri Bustos visited the Quad Cities to meet with local leaders about federal funding. Right now, Congress is trying to pass a highway bill to fix and fund our area’s infrastructure. However, if they don’t find a solution by July 31st, 2015, federal funding for those projects – like the I-74 Bridge – will end. Monday, July 13th, 2015, a spokesman for Bustos said that if federal funding for the project...

The Illinois State Police are using vans with cameras and radar guns to photograph motorists and other drivers who speed through highway construction zones, and are enforcing strict penalties for alleged offenders. Citations for a first offense are $375, and a second offense can cost $1,000 and a 90-day suspension of driver’s license. State Police officials said four white vans, which are equipped with radar guns, cameras and a monitor to show drivers their speed, have been deployed at different construction zones in the state. As of Thursday, June 5, those vans are deployed at the widening project on the...

2 killed in wreck on I-74 in Surry CountyElderly Mount Airy driver was in wrong lanes, patrol says By Patrick Wilson JOURNAL REPORTER MOUNT AIRY A woman from Mount Airy drove the wrong way on Interstate 74 last night and collided with an oncoming car, killing both her and a man from Ohio driving the other vehicle, authorities said. It was the second fatal collision involving a car traveling the wrong way on a four-lane way highway in northwestern North Carolina this week. The woman killed last night, who was in her 80s, was driving west in the eastbound lanes...