The Knox County Area Partnership for Economic Development Board and members of the City of Galesburg recently took a trip to Washington, D.C. to talk with legislators, where they brought forth two projects for support, explains KCAP President Ken Springer:
“The South Street underpass project, which is a piece of infrastructure located just south of Galesburg’s Amtrak station; this is a project that has safety importance, but it is also a really important gateway to the south side of Galesburg, adjacent to Knox College. Also, this underpass project is right next to where the future Railroad Hall of Fame would be going. BNSF is hugely in support of a replacement of this South Street underpass. It is important to them from an operational standpoint. The second one was the East Main Street Streetscaping Project, which again has a safety element to it. If you have driven on East Main Street from I-74 into Galesburg’s Downtown, East Main Street has some safety issues in terms of where the sidewalks are placed. There is also a need for some aesthetic upgrades along that corridor as well. Some better curb appeal I think will help with some of the retail vacancies. I think that is another project that has quite a number of different reasons why a legislator would want to support it.”
Springer informs those that made the trip to Washington, D.C. paid their own way to advocate for these projects in the Galesburg community.