A PRELIMINARY ENVIRONMENTAL SITE INVESTIGATION FOR A BRIDGE OVER THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER AT MOLINE, ILLINOIS

摘要

A preliminary environmental site assessment along the ali gnment of I-74 and its bridge over the Mississippi River was completed by the Illinois State Geological Survey for the Illinois Department of Transportation in 2002. The purpose of the survey was to determine the presence of any environmental concerns, both natural and man -made, that the Illinois DOT might encounter during activities to build a new bridge to carry I -74 over the Mississippi River between Moline, IL, and Bettendorf and Davenport, IA. A preliminary investigation of the project area from 27th Street in Moline to 67th Street in Davenport, using government databases, Sanbom Fire Insurance Maps, city directories, and a drive-through of the project area, identified a total of 127 sites that were believed to constitute a possible risk to the project. Following reduction of the project to just the Illinois side of the river, further investigation was conducted of 37 sites in Moline . The location of the project in part of downtown Moline and long-time development along the Moline riverfront by industrial and commercial operations offered a variety of parcels for investigation, ranging from corner gasoline stations to railroads and foundry sites. The dominant sites comprised current or former underground storage tank and leaking underground storage tank sites, automotive repair sites, and foundries and other sites where metals were handled. Railroads, junk yards, cleaners, and spills made up the remainder of the sites investigated. During a limited subsurface investigation, heavy metals and volatile organic compounds indicative of petroleum were detected at several sites. Examples of some of these sites will be presented.