Moline officials to ask state for depot timeline

MOLINE - Aldermen in Moline want more information from Illinois transportation officials before deciding what to do with the city's historic train depot.

Mayor Scott Raes asked a Moline administrator Tuesday to find out the state's deadline for moving the depot or having it destroyed, the (Moline) Dispatch reported . The Davenport, Rock Island and Northwestern depot stands in the way of plans for an Interstate 74 bridge.

It's difficult for city officials to decide the fate of the 114-year-old depot without knowing if it needs to be moved "in three months or three years," Raes said.

Preservation advocates had planned to move the building to the Western Illinois University campus in the Quad Cities, where it would be renovated as a welcome center. The university notified the city earlier this month that it can't accept the building because of the projected $800,000 renovation costs.

The Illinois Department of Transportation had agreed to pay up to $1.35 million to move the local landmark.

Supporters will meet Wednesday with a development company and Thursday with a bank to discuss the depot, Craig Mack, chairman of the Moline Historic Preservation Commission, said.