[Quad Cities, IL] – The Quad Cities is one step closer to losing its status as the most populous urban area in the country without a four-year public university, said U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) as he announced $1 million in new federal funding to help Western Illinois University (WIU) expand its footprint in the area.

The funding, which Durbin included in the Transportation Appropriations bill, will permit the construction of the flood-proof RiverTech Boulevard, a critical infrastructure component needed in the RiverTech redevelopment area that includes WIU Quad City Riverfront Campus.

“Education is one of the keys to the revitalization and continued viability of a region. This state of the art flood-proof road will create opportunities for higher education and economic growth in the Quad Cities area,” Durbin said.

“In addition to providing a safe, flood-proofed access route to and from properties in RiverTech, the construction of this road will also enable the development of a much-needed transportation hub in a centralized location,” said Durbin.

Properties in RiverTech along the Mississippi River are currently only accessible by River Drive, which consistently floods during heavy rainfall, and is cost prohibitive to reconstruct. Consequently, this appropriation will help the City of Moline construct RiverTech Boulevard through RiverTech adjacent to the railroad tracks between River Drive and 4th Avenue, thereby providing an additional access route which is safe and convenient during flood conditions.

The road will also create a new location for the bus route. This transportation hub will ultimately include structured parking, a site for a future commuter rail line, and a sky bridge pedestrian crossing between the transportation hub and the WIU Campus.

Construction of this roadway is a necessary next step to enable redevelopment in RiverTech along River Drive, which will include:

-the WIU QC Riverfront Campus -a Corporate Business Center; -University Square, a Mixed-Use Development Housing the Intellectual Property Management Institute, Office Space and Residential; -FlexTech, Flexible Commercial and Advanced Manufacturing Space for Startup Businesses; -a Mixed-Use Development Immediately South of the WIU Campus that includes a Sport and Wellness Center.

Construction of the two-lane RiverTech Boulevard will entail the following:

-Raising the current elevation above the floodplain with three feet of fill -Constructing the two-lane roadway and connecting it to the storm sewer system -Accommodating on-street parking with two lanes of parallel parking in the eastern segment of the road and one lane of diagonal parking in the western segment -Installing pedestrian amenities including a five-foot wide sidewalk and street lights on the north side of roadway and street trees on both sides of the roadway