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Traffic jams in Quad-City area likely this weekend

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By Kurt Allemeier | Friday, July 25, 2008 |

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Bix Street Closings

Several downtown Davenport streets will be closed today because of the Quad-City Times Bix 7 and the Wells Fargo Street Fest. Some of the closures will last through the weekend.

Use of downtown parking ramps is recommended. The $2 special event fee will be charged in the Redstone and Harrison Street parking ramps all day today and in the RiverCenter ramp after 5 p.m. Parking in the ramps is free Saturday until 10:30 a.m., when the special event fee will be charged.

“Plus, our cashiers are just more friendly faces who someone from out of town can ask questions,” said Tom Flaherty, Davenport parking manager.

Meanwhile, pedal-powered RAGBRAI riders could have an easier time getting to LeClaire this weekend than visitors coming by car, truck or motorcycle.

The Interstate 80 bridge over the Mississippi River at LeClaire is down to two lanes after inspectors discovered cracks in the steel framing under the bridge deck, causing traffic to back up already Thursday.

RAGBRAI, the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, rolls into LeClaire on Saturday, bringing thousands of cyclists into the river town and all the people picking them up.

“People coming from Tipton could see a significant delay,” LeClaire Police Chief Jim Pfeiffer warned Thursday. “People should give themselves plenty of travel time.”

The evening commute caused considerable delays on the bridge Thursday, Pfeiffer said. He expects to see the same with extra visitors Saturday for RAGBRAI and the Quad-City Times Bix 7.

If the work had been scheduled maintenance, LeClaire would have asked that it be delayed until after Saturday’s event, but the cracks required immediate lane closures, Pfeiffer said.

U.S. 67 through LeClaire will also be closed at the north and south ends of town on Saturday, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Only local residents will be allowed past barricades.

Despite delays travelers may see on I-80, Pfeiffer and Scott County Sheriff Dennis Conard said the interstate is still the best route across the county. Drivers could see delays trying to cross the RAGBRAI route that follows Wells Ferry Road, 195th Street and 35th Street into LeClaire.

“What we highly recommend is that people avoid the RAGBRAI route because of lengthy delays,” Conard said. “U.S. 61 is probably the best route they can take from north to south in Scott County.”

And to avoid the whole mess, Interstate 80 drivers just heading across Iowa and Illinois can take Interstate 280 to skirt the Quad-Cities.

Visitors to LeClaire today will be able to park on U.S. 67. Parking on the south end of town will be available between Eagle Ridge Road and May Street and on the north side of the city between Territorial Road and Ewing Street. Shuttles will be available to take people to the dipping point on the levee.

Kurt Allemeier can be contacted at (563) 383-2360 or kallemeier@qctimes.com.