Big Changes Underway at the John Deere Road Interchange

East Moline, IL · October 10, 2026

Roll down the windows and enjoy this unusual October warmth before afternoon clouds settle over the bluffs. Between morning sales and live music tonight, your Saturday schedule is wide open.

The Lead

State and regional transportation leaders gathered Friday to break ground on a major overhaul connecting John Deere Road to Interstate 74. The long-anticipated project will replace the outdated cloverleaf with a modern diverging diamond interchange, untangling one of the area’s heaviest commuter bottlenecks.

For local motorists traveling west on Route 5, the new configuration briefly crosses traffic to the opposite side of the road at freeway ramps. The layout eliminates dangerous left turns across oncoming lanes and sharply reduces merge points. While initial utility prep has been quietly underway, heavy machinery will move into the corridor over the coming weeks as crews construct new bridge decks and bypass routes. Transportation officials anticipate the revamped flow will lower severe crashes by more than forty percent once traffic shifts to the new lanes.

Local Pulse

MetroLINK Routes Detour Around 15th Avenue Construction Transit Routes 10 and 50 are rerouting along 16th and 17th avenues through late fall during ongoing street resurfacing.
Curbside Leaf Vacuuming Service Kicks Off Monday Morning City Hall Municipal collection crews begin seasonal curbside pickup across residential routes Monday, running through early December as weather allows.
Small Equipment Grants Open for Local First Responders Safety Area fire protection districts and emergency squads can apply for state funding to purchase critical lifesaving gear and radios.

Today's Outlook

High 82°F · Low 59°F — Overcast Warm breezes and overcast skies mean short sleeves will do fine all afternoon.

What's On Around Town

Today

QC Farmers' Market 1800 Block of 18th St, Rock Island, 8:00 AM–Noon · Free Fresh seasonal produce, baked goods, and autumn flowers downtown.
Nerdtober Con RiverCenter (136 E 3rd St), Davenport, 10:00 AM–5:00 PM · $12 Pop culture gathering featuring comic creators, retro toys, and costume contests.
Haunted Hike Palmer Hills Golf Course (4701 Devils Glen Rd), Bettendorf, 7:00–9:30 PM · $10 Hayrack ride and eerie walk with live local theater performers.
The Rockett Mafia The Rust Belt (533 12th Ave), 7:30 PM · $25 Poison drummer Rikki Rockett brings classic seventies hard rock to town.

Tomorrow

Nerdtober Con RiverCenter (136 E 3rd St), Davenport, 10:00 AM–4:00 PM · $10
CribFest Fall Festival Country Corner Farm (6924 Route 150), Coal Valley, 10:00 AM–6:00 PM

Monday

Rock Island City Council Meeting Rock Island City Hall (1528 3rd Ave), Rock Island, 5:45 PM · Free
Cradle of Filth Capitol Theatre (330 W 3rd St), Davenport, 7:00 PM · Paid

Spotlight & Story

Empire Park Rolle Bolle Courts
- Players roll an eight-pound beveled rubber wheel thirty feet across crushed limestone toward a wooden peg. Preserved by generations of local Belgian immigrant families, the riverside courts keep the centuries-old Flemish bowling tradition active along the Mississippi riverbank.

East Moline Daily Digest — compiled from local sources as of 6 AM. For breaking updates, follow your local newsrooms.

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