Ameren Illinois customers in Knox County will be the beneficiaries of a $30 million investment the company is making to modernize its natural gas energy delivery infrastructure.

Beginning in early April, about 125 contractors, working on behalf of Ameren Illinois, will start construction to upgrade a 10-mile stretch of natural gas transmission pipeline in Knox County, a news release says.

Crews will upgrade the 1940s vintage pipeline with modern 12-inch steel pipeline from Davis Street in Galesburg southeast to the south of Knoxville and ending near Gilson. Once the pipeline is completed and in-service by mid-September, it will strengthen the integrity and reliability of the company’s natural gas system and support economic development for all of Knox County, the release says.

“We have made significant progress in the last seven years strengthening the integrity and reliability of our natural gas infrastructure across our Ameren Illinois service territory,” said Richard J. Mark, chairman and president, Ameren Illinois. “As we look to the future, we are building a robust energy delivery system that meets the needs of our customers in Knox County and throughout our service territory.”

Ameren Illinois delivers energy to 1.2 million electric and more than 800,000 natural-gas customers throughout central and southern Illinois, the release says.