BNSF to add 49 jobs in Galesburg, Ill., by year’s end
Written by jrood
BNSF has created 21 new jobs in Galesburg, Ill., this summer and will add another 49 before the end of the year, according to one of the railroad company's senior officials, The Register-Mail reports. The jobs are signs of a recovery in the freight business, which was hammered by the economic recession. At the height of the recession, BNSF furloughed 187 employees in Galesburg but all of those workers have since been recalled, said Paul Nowicki, BNSF's vice president for government affairs.
Nowicki spoke at a news
conference at the West Main railroad crossing with Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn to
announce $79 million of infrastructure spending in Galesburg, including funding
for two railroad overpasses and one underpass.
"The employment office at
BNSF is open for business," Nowicki said at the West Main railroad crossing,
which will be home to one of the new overpasses.
Quinn said the spending
would create well-paid jobs and put the state on the road to recovery from the
economic downturn.
"This is a very, very
important initiative that will create hundreds of jobs right here that won’t
get exported overseas," he said.
Quinn said $45 million will
be spent for the construction and extension of a BNSF main line track and two
new staging tracks to reduce rail congestion and separate freight trains from
Amtrak trains.
The construction of two overpasses and one underpass will cost
an estimated $34 million and be funded through the state’s capital construction
program. Funding for the projects was first announced in 2009, when the state’s
capital construction bill was signed into law by Quinn.
The West Main overpass will
be the first of the three to be built in Galesburg, with work set to begin
later this year. An overpass at East Main and an underpass on North Seminary
will follow. A total of 440 jobs are expected to be created, according to Quinn’s
office.
State Rep. Don Moffitt,
R-Gilson, also spoke Friday. He hailed Quinn for helping to secure the state’s
first major capital bill in a decade.
"It’s really a bridge to
the future, a bridge to opportunity," Moffitt said of the bridge that will take
traffic over the railroad lines at West Main.
The only downside to the
projects, Moffitt joked, was that people in Galesburg would no longer be able
to use the excuse that they got held up by a train when they arrive at work
late.
Mayor Sal Garza said now
that the state had done its job in providing funding for the long-planned rail
projects, it was up to the city to make sure the money was spent properly.
"It’s our task now locally
to make the most of this investment," he said.
Garza, in honor of the
announcement of funding for the projects, said Sept. 17 would be declared "Rail
Day" in Galesburg.
Congressman Phil Hare,
D-Rock Island, and Illinois Department of Transportation Secretary Gary Hannig
also spoke at the funding announcement in Galesburg.
Quinn, who will face
stiff challenge for the governorship from Republican Bill Brady in the November
election, said the state still had a long way to go to recover from the
recession but said he had faith that communities like Galesburg have a strong
future.
"This has been a railroad
town, it is a railroad town and it always will be a railroad town," he said. "We
believe in Galesburg."
All of those who spoke
Friday saluted Moffitt for his work in securing funding for the rail projects
in Galesburg. Moffitt said the overpasses and underpass would improve traffic,
emergency response times and position the BNSF classification yard for
expansion.
The three projects will contribute to the city’s quiet zone
project, as train horns will no longer have to be sounded at the three
crossings.
