August 6, 2005: East of Peoria, two interchanges in a row on I-74 are for other interstates, I-474 and I-155.
I-74 is Iowa’s connection through the southern part of the old Northwest Territory. It’s only in the state for a few miles. It would have made more sense to send it around the Quad Cities on what is I-280, but it was not to be. Illinois’ effort to put I-80 on that route drew enough of an outcry from Iowa that the interstate routings there are now locked in place.
Today, I-74 has some of the oldest bridges in the interstate system, the ones across the Mississippi River built in 1935 and 1959.
While Cincinnati, the eastern end of I-74, isn’t quite Southern, there is one little connection to the disjointed segments in North Carolina: Near Exit 1 in Davenport is Iowa’s only freestanding Chick-Fil-A.