Transportation
Interstate Cloverleaf

The QC offers the best multi-modal transportation hub in the U.S.

QC, That's Where your logistics operations and products have a direct path to major U.S. cities – Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Kansas City, Des Moines, Indianapolis and Omaha -- in mere hours, not days. It is where barges unload and embark on the Mississippi River inland waterway and where three freight railroads transport products and goods through our region and the world. It is where our international airport serves as a host to the delivery of your clients and your freight. QC, That’s Where businesses thrive.


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Road

Products and supplies never stop moving in and out of our region because we are the crossroads of the Midwest. We hold the semis and truck terminals and the easy, seamless access to cross-country interstates and state highways that you need. This map easily shows it's an unmistakable business advantage.  

  • Interstates: 74, 80, 88 & 280
  • U.S. Federal Highways: 6, 34, 61, 67, 30 & 150
  • State Highways: 5, 17, 78, 81, 84, 92, 94 & 192 (Illinois); 22, 130 & 136 (Iowa)
  • Served by over 200 local, regional and national motor freight carriers and over 60 truck terminals
  • Served by five roadway bridges over the Mississippi River, three of which provide interstate highway access between Iowa and Illinois
  • Segments of Interstate 80 contain a sufficient number of charging facilities to allow for EV travel, with more development underway

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Rail

Our region is served by five freight railroads, making intermodal freight traffic an easily accessible avenue to move your product throughout the country. Plus, the QC is conveniently located 2 ½ hours west of the Centerpoint Intermodal Center in Joliet/Elwood, Illinois - North America’s largest inland port.

  • Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (Class I)
  • Canadian Pacific Railway (Class I)
  • Union Pacific Railroad (Class I)
  • Iowa Interstate Railroad (Class II)
  • Davenport Industrial Railroad (Class III)

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Ports/Barge

The Mississippi River inland waterway is a superhighway, providing your business a low-cost transportation option that supports your company’s sustainability goals. The impact it has on our environment is much lower than cross-country trucking or even rail. The tugboat, towboat and barge industry move nearly 700 million tons of vital commodities annually, including agricultural products, petroleum, coal, chemicals, sand, stone, cement and much more. Many of those loaded barges embark and unload right here.

  • Water access to the Gulf of Mexico, Great Lakes and foreign ports via the Mississippi River 
  • Mississippi River: 9-ft. channel, 10-month navigation season 
  • The Corn Belt Ports of the Quad Cities, Peoria and Quincy make up the nation’s largest inland port 
  • 46 public and private barge terminals that all have direct highway access (three have rail access) 

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Air

Land here and watch your business and products take off. The Quad Cities International Airport (MLI) serves travelers with daily departures and nonstop destinations that will serve you, your leadership and your clients well. Air freight services can deliver your products across the world. Charter planes and hangar rentals allow you to elevate your company travel. Three municipal airports within our region (Davenport, Muscatine and Clinton) provide corporate and community hangars for lease.  

  • Major airlines include Allegiant, American Airlines, Delta and United Airlines.
  • Nonstop service to nine domestic destinations including major airline hubs in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, Las Orlando-Sanford, Phoenix-Mesa, Punta Gorda-Ft. Myers, St. Pete-Clearwater and Vegas.
  • The major air freight carriers operating from the airport include BAX Global, DHL/Danzas Air & Ocean, DHL Express and UPS Supply Chain Solutions.
  • The airport serves as a U.S. Customs Port of Entry and is located in Foreign Trade Zone 133

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Tami Petsche
Contact
Tami Petsche
Vice President, Business & Economic Growth
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Map of the Quad Cities region
The heart of the Midwest
QC, That's Where? It's where two states and one mighty Mississippi River are home to a family of communities making the Midwest's future.