Around Phoenixville

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation will start construction Friday, August 5, on a $450,000 project to rehabilitate the structurally deficient bridge carrying Route 23 (Schuylkill Road) over French Creek in Phoenixville Borough and East Pikeland and Schuylkill townships, Chester County. The project is scheduled to finish Sunday, August 14. Crews will work to rehabilitate the Route 23 (Schuylkill Road) bridge by replacing a portion of the bridge deck and deteriorated beams. During construction, Route 23 (Schuylkill Road) will be closed and detoured between Valley Forge Road and Township Line Road. The posted detour will use Township Line Road and Valley Forge Road. Southbound Township Line motorists wanting to access eastbound Route 23 (Schuylkill Road) will be detoured over Mowere Road. Local access will be maintained up to the construction zone. The Route 23 (Schuylkill Road) bridge was built in 1940. The two-span steel I-beam bridge is 125 feet long, 40 feet wide ...

Councilman Gautreau posted this on the facebook earlier today: Notice from Phoenixville borough manager: At our Streetscape construction meeting this morning, PennDOT, the contractor, and staff agreed that the best course of action for the intersection at Main Street and Bridge Street is to close it entirely on October 8 and 9. The grade changes needed to balance that intersection based on the new construction does not provide a safe vehicle environment. In addition, they have to install a new stormwater inlet, a new manhole and make the connections about ten feet down in the middle of Bridge. These dates may be pushed to October 9 and 10 due to possible inclement weather. The intent is for the intersection to remain closed the entire time. The goal always remains to open as soon as possible. Essentially Bridge Street will be closed to non-local traffic between Starr Street and Gay Street. Main Street will be closed between Church Street and Mill Street. We are notifying reside...

From the Phoenix Steel Site blog : Phoenixville Borough Council Borough Council gave unanimous approval to the proposed downtown development in project, which when complete, will bring new retail development to the downtown. The Council approved by a 7-0 vote, with Dana Dugan not in attendance, to approve the development which features 80,000 square feet of retail, 275 apartments and 30,000 square feet of office space. The two hour meeting had the council members questioning how the development would mesh into the downtown. Concerns were voiced as how the development would impact the fire safety of the borough, the way finding program and the street music program. The development was also praised by developers as a progressive attempt on behalf of the borough to spur development at the abandoned Phoenix Steel site property. Developer Manny DeMutis and attorney Michael B. Murray presented the plan and praised the boroughs efforts to make the project happen by offering a LERTA ta...

PennDOT is set to re-open the White Horse Road bridge tomorrow afternoon, three months ahead of schedule. See phoenixvillenews.com for more info.

East Pikeland Township has announced on their website that the covered bridge on Rapps Dam Road will be closed at some point during January for repairs by PennDOT. The township has just been notified by PennDOT that the reconstruction project for the Rapps Dam Road Covered Bridge will begin in JANUARY. The exact date for road closure has not yet been announced, but detour signs will be posted two weeks in advance. The project, which includes rebuilding the steel structure and removing and replacing portions of the roof, siding and decking, is not expected to be completed until November, 2011. The bridge was originally constructed in 1866 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The project will extend the life of the structure while maintaining its historic significance.

Beginning in late fall 2012, E-ZPass users will be able to access the PA Turnpike where it currently crosses over Rte. 29. HARRISBURG, PA (08/04/2010)(readMedia)-- The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission announced today that it is moving ahead with the construction of an all-electronic interchange linking Route 29 with I-76 in Chester County. Located midway between the Downingtown exit (#312) and the Valley Forge exit (#326), the new facility will provide convenient access to and from such business parks as the Great Valley Corporate Center, the Commons at Great Valley, Atwater and business districts in Malvern and Paoli. ... Turnpike officials expect construction of the E-ZPass-only interchange will start in March 2011 with a late fall 2012 opening. The estimated $60 million project calls for bridges to be built over the Turnpike, over Yellow Springs Road, over Atwater Drive as well as construction of a culvert and several retaining walls. The construction area will cover one-half mil...

Starting on May 17th, the bridge on White Horse Rd. between Pothouse and Creek Rds. will be demolished with a new bridge scheduled to be completed by June, 2011. For more information including detour routes, see the PDF on the Phoenixville Area School District website .

From the Phoenix : Construction of the new Phoenixville Area Middle School is scheduled to begin on the last day of the current school year. During a recent school board meeting, Damion Spahr, regional vice president of Reynold Construction Management, gave the school board an update on the status of the $60 million middle school project. Spahr said that his company will begin receiving bids to do the work on March 11, 2010. "We've had a lot of contractors come by and pick up information to bid on the job," Spahr informed the board. "We would like to have a Notice To Proceed on or before May 3, 2010." With construction scheduled to begin on the last day of the current school year, Spahr said that they anticipate having the new school completely constructed by the summer of 2012. "We would like to have it done by then for fall 2012 occupancy," he said. Read the full article here .

PennDOT is on a roll, after opening the Gay Street Bridge some five months ahead of schedule, they followed up by reopening the bridge on Valley Forge Rd. that crosses over the turnpike. From 422improvements.com : KING OF PRUSSIA, PA. (OCT. 26, 2009) — The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission announced the opening of the newly reconstructed Valley Forge Road Bridge (Route 252) today – weeks ahead of schedule. The bridge crosses the Turnpike at milepost 324.3, 1.6 miles west of the Valley Forge Interchange (Exit #326). Allan A. Myers, a Company of American Infrastructure, was awarded the $4.8 million contract to rebuild the bridge in January with the anticipated opening in mid-November. The new bridge features a stone architectural treatment and includes two 12-foot travel lanes and 8-foot shoulders. It will accommodate pedestrians and bicyclists who use the bridge to access Valley Forge National Park. The area adjacent to the bridge has been landscaped with two rain gardens. The ...

Its been confirmed that the Gay St. Bridge will reopen on Friday, October 16th. From an email I received: We’ve confirmed with PennDOT that the opening of the Gay Street Bridge will be at 11:00 on Friday, October 16. PennDOT is in the process of sending invitations to all of the elected officials at all levels. It is my understanding that Les Toaso who is the District Executive for District 6 will be the MC for the ceremonies. We are working with PennDOT to pull all of the logistics together. At this time we are planning to have the ribbon cutting at the center of the bridge. We are looking to have dignitaries and guests to gather at both ends of the bridge. At the designated time the procession will come from both ends and meet in the middle for the ceremonies and ribbon cutting. We are working on everything from entertainment to classic cars. The biggest thing is getting the word out so that we have as large an audience as possible. As we get more information we will c...

Councilman Senley posted on his blog on Monday that the Gay Street Bridge is tentatively scheduled to reopen at 11am on Friday, October 16th, some six months ahead of schedule.

The long awaited opening of the new Wegmans in Collegeville (part of the Providence Town Center development) is set to occur at 7am on Sunday, October 11th. Wegmans has created a website with more information abuot the new store at collegeville.wegmans.com . Other stores expected to open this fall: Barnes and Noble Best Buy - Opening 10/1 Dicks Sporting Goods DSW Eastern Mountain Sports Five Below LA Fitness Michaels Olive Garden Petsmart - Opening 10/24 Staples ULTA

Last weekend's Phoenix had an updated on the new Super Wawa that is coming to the corner of Rte's 23 and 113: Wawa, Incorporated is bringing even more convenience to the Schyukill Township and surrounding areas, including Phoenixville, which shares a border as well as a community with the neighboring town. Construction of a new Wawa Food Market and a CVS Pharmacy and convenience store is in progress near the intersection of Rt. 113 (Kimberton Road) and Rt. 23 (Nutt Road). The project is expected to be completed by the year's end, according to Tom Ruther, supervisor of A.T. Construction Co. This new addition will provide more options for commuters on their morning drive as well as late night needs. Whether it's a quick stop off for a cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich or a much needed gasoline refilling, Wawa provides. Most of their locations are open for business 24 hours a day 365 days per year and feature surcharge free Automated Teller Machines at all stores. The...

From the Borough website : ALERT!! Due to a recent water main break, the Borough Water Department is repairing a main water line TONIGHT June 25, 2009. Borough of Phoenixville water customers may experience extended periods of no water, or low pressure between the times of 9:00 PM and 4:00 AM. We apologize for any inconvenience during this time but the repair is essential to providing quality water service.

At last night's Borough Council Community Development Committee meeting, the topic of discussion was the Phoenixville Public Library and the proposed expansion that will close off 2nd Ave. at Main Street. The committee voted unanimously to recommend that Council approve the closure. For more information on last night's meeting, see today's Phoenix . The library has created a webpage that discusses the expansion project at http://www.phoenixvillelibrary.org/about/expansion.htm

Reader Victor did some detective work regarding the future plans for the Marketplace at Oaks and was able to uncover the following. --- BJ's Wholesale Club will be built directly behind Lowe's and Pizzeria Uno will be built on the other side of Egypt close to 422, with 8 to 10 more restaurant pads and 10 retail pads in the plans. --- Note, this is not to be confused with the Providence Town Center which is in Collegeville. For more information on the Marketplace at Oaks, visit 422businesscenter.com .

Exciting news, the former Rite Aid store in the Giant Shopping Center, empty since a new store was built across the street, will be torn down in favor of a gas station! Rumors had swirled since the move that the building would become home for a chain restaurant (I heard IHop on more than one occassion) but, at Tuesday night's Borough Council meeting, plans for the station were unanimously approved. The station "will feature four double-sided pumps (eight fueling stations), served by a small attendant's kiosk. Three grades of regular gas will be available; no diesel fuel will be sold. Preparations were being made but plans were not yet firm, said Kerry Eck, a Giant real estate representative, to make biofuels available there at a later date." Gas will be sold under the Giant brand name and the station will be open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week. No word on when the station will open but with Wawa building a Super Wawa across the street, fuel options in that...

The Wegmans supermarket that is being built as part of the new development near the intersection of 29 and 422 is scheduled to open in August or September of 2009 . From what I have seen and read, the Wegmans will serve as the anchor of the Providence Town Center development, which logically would mean that the rest of the shops would start to open at around the same time, a cool two years after it was originally scheduled to open. Thanks to reader mvd623 who mentioned the update to the Wegmans site over in the Forums area .

An anonymous poster posted a link a YouTube video by Mark Fink of the progress that is being made with the Gay Street Bridge. The video is below:

Councilman Senley's blog has an update on the Gay Street Bridge project . Highlights of the press release include: --- The Gay Street/Route 113 Bridge in Phoenixville Borough, Chester County, is scheduled to close Wednesday (April 2) for the construction of a new bridge over French Creek, several local streets, railroad tracks and the former Phoenix Steel site, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) said today. The new bridge is scheduled to open in early 2010. ... Construction crews will build the new bridge on the same alignment as the existing structure. The new bridge will have two 12-foot wide travel lanes; two six-foot wide shoulders; two six-foot wide sidewalks; and ornamental street lights. ... Motorists driving cars and other conventional passenger vehicles will follow Bridge Street, Route 29, Black Rock Road, Trappe Road (Route 113) and Black Rock Road (Route 113) to move from downtown Phoenixville to the north side of the borough. They will follow the ...