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Last week, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn announced the state will provide $79 million for projects designed to reduce rail and roadway congestion in the Galesburg area.

To begin next year, a grade separation project calls for building one underpass and two bridges, and closing eight grade crossings in Galesburg. The $34 million project will create 440 jobs and support Galesburg’s quiet zone initiative, which aims to decrease an estimated 3,400 times daily that trains sound their horns in the area, said Quinn in a prepared statement.

In addition, a $45 million rail congestion mitigation project slated for 2011 involves the construction and extension of a BNSF Railway Co. mainline and two new staging tracks to separate freight and Amtrak train traffic.

Galesburg is a major regional rail hub where seven major rail lines converge, providing direct rail links to southern Illinois and Chicago, as well as the Pacific Northwest, California and Texas.