Interstate 280 (Illinois–Iowa)

Interstate 280
Map of Quad Cities with I-280 highlighted in red.
Route information
Auxiliary route of I-80
Maintained by Iowa DOT and IDOT
Length:	26.98 mi[1] (43.42 km)
Major junctions
West end:	I-80 / US 6 in Davenport, Iowa
	US 6 in Davenport, Iowa US 61 in Davenport, Iowa I-74 / US 6 in Rock Island, Ill.
East end:	I-74 / I-80 near Colona, Ill.
Location
States:	Iowa Illinois
Counties:	Iowa Scott Illinois Rock Island Henry
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business ← US 275 IA Iowa 281 → ← I-270 IL I-290 →

Interstate 280 (abbreviated I-280) is an auxiliary highway that makes up the western and southern portions of the beltway around the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa. The freeway starts at I-80 near Davenport, Iowa and ends at I-80 near Colona, Illinois; its eastern part runs concurrent with I-74 to return to I-80. I-280 forms the southern part of a circle around the Quad Cities as well as forming part of a bypass (along with I-80) for U.S. Highway 61 around Davenport. This road is 26.98 miles (43.42 km) long.^[1]

Route description

I-280 begins at a directional T interchange with Interstate 80 on the northwestern outskirts of Davenport. U.S. Route 6 (US 6) and US 61 join I-280 from opposite directions of I-80 at the interchange. It heads south along the western edge of Davenport. At the Kimberly Road exit, US 6 splits off to the east. It continues south for 4 miles (6.4 km), crossing Duck Creek, towards a diamond interchange with Scott County Road F65 (CR F65), which becomes Locust Street in Davenport.^[2]

Further south, I-280 passes the 620-acre (250 ha) West Lake Park.^[3] South of West Lake Park, US 61 splits away from the interstate on its way towards Muscatine. In the other direction, U.S. Route 61 Business heads towards the Davenport riverfront. South of US 61, I-280 curves to the southeast towards the Mississippi River. It drops into the river valley and meets Iowa Highway 22 (Iowa 22). It continues southeast and crosses the river via the Sergeant John F. Baker, Jr. Bridge.^[2]

I-280 crosses the Mississippi River over the Baker Bridge.

In Illinois, I-280 runs for 17.60 miles (28.32 km).^[1][4] It runs southeast from the Baker Bridge to Milan, where it parallels the Rock River. I-280 joins with I-74 at the Quad Cities International Airport; this concurrency continues for 9.4 miles (15.1 km) before terminating at the I-74/I-80 interchange.

On the SE corner of the Quad Cities (in Illinois) I-280 heading East ends and becomes I-80 while I-80 heads South from Le Claire, Rapids City, and Port Byron. I-80 heading South becomes I-74 which (after going through the center of the Quad Cities hooks up with I-280. This exchange is called The Big X.

History

The original plan of I-280 matches the western half of the route today.

Interstate 280 has been at the center of a few debates regarding its routing. In the early 1990s, the state of Illinois suggested, via AASHTO and ISTEA hearings, swapping the I-80 and I-280 designations around the Quad Cities. The plan would have also changed I-74 to I-174. This was challenged by the state of Iowa, and the idea was dropped.^[5]

One of the reasons Illinois pursued the matter was due to the configuration of the eastern terminus of I-280; as a simple cloverleaf interchange, through I-80 traffic (along the north and east branches) was required to exit on both directions. Thru I-74 traffic (along the west and south branches) is also required to exit on both directions. I-280 runs due west from the interchange.

Exit list

State	County	Location	mi[4][6]	km	Exit[2]	Destinations	Notes
Iowa	Scott	Davenport	0.000	0.000		I-80 / US 6 west / US 61 north – Des Moines, Chicago	West end of US 6 / US 61 overlap
			0.824	1.326	1	US 6 east / CR F58 west (Kimberly Road) – Walcott	East end of US 6 overlap
			4.525	7.282	4	CR F65 (Locust Street) – St. Ambrose University
			6.558	10.554	6	US 61 south / US 61 Business (West River Drive) – Muscatine	East end of US 61 overlap
			8.304	13.364	8	Iowa 22 / Great River Road (Rockingham Road) – Buffalo
Mississippi River			9.581	15.419	Sergeant John F. Baker, Jr. Bridge
Illinois	Rock Island	Rock Island	10.98	17.67	11	IL 92 / Great River Road – Andalusia, Rock Island	Signed as exits 11A (west) and 11B (east)
		Milan	14.96	24.08	15	To US 67 / Airport Road – Milan
		Moline	17.79	28.63	18	I-74 west / US 6 – Quad City Airport, Moline	West end of I-74 overlap; signed as exits 18A (south) and 18B (north)
	Henry	Colona	26.98	43.42		I-74 east / I-80 – Peoria, Des Moines, Chicago	East end of I-74 overlap
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

References

1. "Route Log- Auxiliary Routes of the Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways - Table 2". Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved October 5, 2014.
2. Iowa Department of Transportation (2011). Iowa State Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Ames: Iowa Department of Transportation. Quad Cities inset. Retrieved July 25, 2011.
3. Scott County Conservation. "West Lake Park". Retrieved July 28, 2011.
4. Illinois Technology Transfer Center (2006). "T2 GIS Data". Retrieved November 8, 2007.
5. http://www.kurumi.com/roads/3di/i280.html#280il, Retrieved on July 7, 2009.
6. "2009 Volume of Traffic on the Primary Road System of Iowa" (PDF). Iowa Department of Transportation. January 1, 2009. Retrieved March 22, 2010.

Route map: Bing / Google