QUAD CITIES (KWQC) – Traffic tonight is moving smoothly on the I-74 bridge. It was just before rush hour yesterday when an expansion joint came loose on the bridge deck.
The piece of metal punctured tires and disabled cars right at the approach of the bridge going into Iowa. That took traffic in Moline down to a crawl and caused three separate single-car accidents.
There were no injuries reported, but police tell us there were several other close calls and near collisions.
Iowa DOT isn’t sure why or how that expansion joint became loose.
“It’s kind of scary, makes me not want to use that bridge,” said mechanic Andres Orduna.
He works at Car Mex in East Moline, where one of the damaged cars was taken yesterday. Orduna said to fix these popped tires will cost $300-$400.
“If it’s something with the suspension then we’re looking at $500-$600 to fix it,” he said.
But, why this happened is a tough question to answer.
“He says that he was driving on the I-74 when he saw the vehicle in front of him swerve and stop at the same time,” said Orduna.
He’s translating for Jose Garcia. Garcia’s tires were punctured from the expansion joint that was sticking out from the I-74 bridge deck.
“It was a good thing he was able to control the car,” said Orduna.
Moline Police said there are three separate single car accident reports, all with punctured tires.
Police said there were many other close calls and near collisions.
“It’s not bad, he’s just upset that it’s going to be a cost for him to repair his vehicle now,” said Orduna. “Never heard of anything like that until now.”
It’s something Iowa DOT said is a rare occurrence.
“It wasn’t really as much of a buckle, as it was a piece of one of our expansion joints that came loose,” said I-74 project manager Doug Rick.
Here’s what the expansion joint looks like. I-74 project manager Rick tell us they’re 3-feet by 1.5-foot, two-inch thick sections of metal.
They expand and contract to accommodate traffic, weather and movement of the bridge.
“A fairly thick metal piece actually came loose and ended up vertical so it was a hazard to traffic,” said Rick.
He said bitter cold temperatures yesterday may have been a contributing factor as to why this happened.
“It was cold, but that shouldn’t matter,” he said. “That still should have stayed in there.”
He said the pieces can get loose and often rattle, but never fall out like it did yesterday.
“What happened and that piece coming loose was kind of a freak occurrence and why it happened we’re not sure yet, but we have it secured again,” he said.
Crews put the metal piece back in place and welded it. Rick said they’re working on a more permanent solution.
He said the expansion joints and bridge are regularly inspected and repaired. That span is over 80 years old, which could also be a contributing factor as to why this happened.
