Borough awarded $1.3 million in state grants

The Commonwealth Financing Authority has approved $1.3 million in state funding for two projects in the borough.

Phoenixville was awarded two grants at the financing authority’s March 16 meeting. The Multimodal Transportation Fund awarded $600,000 for improvements to the Bridge and Starr Street intersection, and the Local Share Account — Statewide Fund awarded $750,000 for the Phoenix Wheel Project.

The funds awarded for the Bridge and Starr Street intersection will allow the borough to create a four-way intersection with proper turning lanes, Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant crosswalks, and will provide pedestrian connection in that area.

The Phoenix Wheel Project is a partnership between the borough and the Schuylkill River Heritage Center and will reconstruct the world’s oldest Ferris wheel into a sculpture. This sculpture, along with the expansion of the French Creek Trail, will create a recreational and aesthetic destination.

Phoenixville Borough Council President Jon Ewald said the “council appreciates the continued and vital support it receives from our state representatives. The MTF grant will serve to enact permanent, tangible improvements for the safety and ease of pedestrians, commuters, heavy trucks and SEPTA at one of the Borough’s busiest intersections.”

Additionally, the LSA grant will help the Borough preserve a vital piece of Phoenixville’s history, the Phoenix Wheel, and allow the reconstructed amusement wonder to once again rise up from the heart of the borough, Ewald said.

“On behalf of Borough Council, we want to express our most sincere appreciation for the true collaboration of support from Sens. Carolyn Comitta and Katie Muth, and State Reps, Melissa Shusterman, Daniel Friel Otten, Paul Friel,” Borough Manager E. Jean Krack added.

For more information about either of the projects, visit www.phoenixville.org.