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Midwest Edition
October 7 2017 Vol. XX • No. 20
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“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded 1957.” 470 Maryland Drive • Ft. Washington, PA 19034 • 215-885-2900 • Toll Free 800-523-2200 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com
Inside
Quad Cities See $1.2B Span Over Mississippi By Eric Olson CEG CORRESPONDENT
Rudd Equipment Hosts Training Session…10
Golfers Raise Money for Political Action…14
Attendees Converge on Annual Farm Show…36
Table of Contents ....................4 Paving Section ..................39-51 Off-Road Trucks Section ............ ..........................................67-80 Snow & Ice Section ..........89-93 Business Calendar................92 Auction Section..............99-107 Advertisers Index................106
It is hard to imagine a pair of structures more in need of replacement than the two that make up the Iowa-Illinois Memorial Bridge. More commonly known together as the Interstate 74 Bridge, the twin suspension spans transport about 80,000 vehicles across the Mississippi River each day between Bettendorf, Iowa and Moline, Ill. Those two communities, along with Davenport, Iowa, and Rock Island and East Moline in Ill., are the five principal towns that make up the four-county Quad Cities region, the largest population center on the Mississippi between Minneapolis-St. Paul and St. Louis. The problem with the old I-74 suspension bridges is they were built in 1935 (the westbound span from Illinois to Iowa) and 1959 (the eastbound span), respectively. Due to continually increasing traffic in the 1960s and early ‘70s, the Illinois and Iowa DOTs upgraded the structures in the mid-1970s to carry interstate traffic and to accommodate 48,000 vehicles crossings each day.
More commonly known together as the Interstate 74 Bridge, the twin suspension spans transport about 80,000 vehicles across the Mississippi River each day between Bettendorf, Iowa, and Moline, Ill.
By 2017, that number has increased to between 76,000 and 80,000 cars and trucks. In addition, the interstate standards on the bridge are no longer being met as they each have two narrow lanes, no shoulders and a 50-mile-perhour speed limit. Something had to give, and the states of Iowa and Illinois certainly did not want it to be the over-
worked old bridge spans. A Significant Upgrade Planned So, with the old I-74 Bridge determined to be functionally obsolete the two states came up with a plan to replace it with a new bridge that is stunning in both its visual and functional design. The new I-74 Mississippi River
Bridge will be just upstream from the old twin structures at one of the few points along the river where it flows east to west. The bridges are basket-handle, true-arch twin spans that will be 3,464 ft. long and give motorists four lanes in each direction, as well as a pedestrian path. “Having four lanes on each span means that each of those structures see BRIDGE page 64
Gov. Holcomb, INDOT Mecalac Ramps Up Award Record $150M Presence in U.S. Market Gov. Eric J. Holcomb and INDOT Commissioner Joe McGuinness announced 396 Indiana cities, towns and counties received a combined $150 million in state-matching funds for local road projects through the Next Level Roads: Community Crossings Initiative.
The full list of communities receiving matching funds was released Sept. 20 following the first in a series of presentations being held around the state with local, state and business officials to highlight award-winning grant applications. see INDOT page 56
When France-based construction equipment manufacturer Mecalac made its first impression in the United States market in mid2016, it was through Lorusso Heavy Equipment, based in Walpole, Mass. This allowed Mecalac to introduce its unique equipment line to
the New England construction market with the assistance of Lorusso, which also was responsible for helping set up a nationwide distribution network for the manufacturer. A lot has happened since then. In December 2016, Mecalac see MECALAC page 20