THATCHER — During Monday’s Thatcher Town Council meeting, Mayor Jenny Howard asked for a short recess so she could answer a phone call.
That call proved valuable to the town, as it was U.S. Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., telling the mayor his discretionary funding request for a road project in the town has been included in the House Appropriations bill.
Ciscomani is seeking $9 million to help the town widen 1st Avenue, from Quail Ridge to Eagle Drive.
Howard said even if the full amount is not funded, any amount will help.
“It’s a huge safety issue,” Howard said. “I drive it every day, everybody from the southern area of Thatcher — Dailey Estates — drives it. There are kids standing on the road with absolutely no barrier between (them and) the traffic, waiting for the bus.”
Ciscomani’s funding request is not the only money the town is seeking. Town Manager Heath Brown said that U.S. Senators Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., have also included money for Thatcher in their discretionary spending requests. Kelly and Gallego are seeking $430,000 for the town to acquire right-of-way for the project.
The town has also submitted a grant application through Arizona Department of Transportation’s Transportation Alternatives program. Thatcher requested $13.3 million, which, if approved, will require a 5.7 percent match from the town, or $804,530.
Brown said once the project is complete, 1st Avenue will be similar to the recently improved 8th Street, with sidewalks and curbs, bike lanes and a center turning lane.
