Galesburg City Manager Eric Hanson and Director of Public Works Aaron Gavin joined Galesburg's Morning News to discuss key infrastructure projects for Galesburg.
One of the most significant items is the East Main Streetscaping project, a road diet initiative to transform the corridor from I-74 to Grand Avenue by reducing travel lanes, adding green spaces, and enhancing pedestrian and cyclist safety with upgraded sidewalks, crosswalks, curb bump-outs, and ADA-compliant ramps. With a total planning cost of $5.3M, the project—currently in preliminary engineering funded by an FY24 IDOT HSIP grant—seeks $1M in FY26 Community Project Funding to advance to construction readiness, aiming to reduce accidents, improve traffic flow, and catalyze commercial revitalization.
They also talk about some upcoming projects at Harrel W. Timmons Galesburg Regional Airport, including improvements to the airport entrance road and parking Lot, which will resurface and expand the lot for events like the Stearman Fly-In.
Lastly, they address PFOA detection in the city’s water system, slightly above new state standards, emphasizing no decline in quality and outlining steps like well optimization to ensure compliance within five years. The city has a five-year timeframe to get below the required limits and is actively working to achieve this, with a goal of being compliant "well before the the time time frame."