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Improving the Look of East Main St

Rich Egger

Galesburg will hold an open house on July 24 to present design concepts for a short stretch of East Main Street.

The city wants to improve the look of the stretch from I-74 to Michigan Avenue.

We're also looking at potentially adding some landscaping in that area

“That is kind of a main entrance into Galesburg,” said Steve Gugliotta, associate planner for the city, in explaining why the project is important.

The open house will take place from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm at City Hall.

He said the city would like to remove chain link fencing and some of the signs near I-74. He hoped the fencing could be replaced with something more aesthetically pleasing, and the signs could combined into a single sign.

“We’re also looking at potentially adding some landscaping in that area on either side of the road (and) possibly in the median,” Gugliotta said.

He said state approval might be needed for some of the changes, especially near the interstate.

He hoped to have design work done by early to mid-fall. Completion of the entire project will then depend on weather conditions this fall and winter.

Gugliotta said the area where the improvements will be made is in a Tax Increment Finance district, so TIF money will be used to pay for the project.

The city will also use the open house on July 24 to share design concepts for upgrading municipal parking lots throughout the central business district. Those improvements will also be paid for with TIF money.

Rich is TSPR's News Director.