Second Phase Of Route 1 Overhaul Starting This Month

PennDOT’s large-scale project to overhaul Route 1 will move into its second phase starting Monday, March 22.

The state transportation department confirmed Friday the second phase of the project will begin work between the Neshaminy Interchange in Bensalem and just past the Penndel/Business Route 1 (Lincoln Highway) Interchange in Middletown Township.

On March 22 through Wednesday, March 24 from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., Route 1 will be reduced to one lane in each direction as contractors set up a construction barrier along the northbound and southbound shoulders beginning at the ramps on the north side of the Neshaminy Interchange through the Penndel/Business Route 1 split. Construction barrier placement will also take place along the ramp from southbound Business Route 1 at the Penndel/Business Route 1 exit to southbound Route 1, reducing the ramp to a single lane, according to PennDOT.

The initial construction by Chester County-based contractor JD Eckman Inc. will involve clearing operations and installation of environmental safety barriers before starting large-scale excavation of the northbound and southbound embankments.

The plan for the second phase of the project includes the following:

• Construct a third travel lane in each direction from just north of the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s Bensalem Interchange to the Penndel/Route 1 Business Interchange;
• Add an auxiliary in each direction between interchanges from the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s Bensalem Interchange, through the Neshaminy Interchange, to the Penndel/Business Route 1 Interchange;
• Reconfigure and improve the Neshaminy Interchange;
• Improve the Penndel/Business Route 1 Interchange by upgrading the ramps to current design standards and installing longer ramp acceleration/deceleration lanes;
• Construct new retaining walls along the northbound exit ramp at the Neshaminy Interchange and along northbound Route 1 north and south of the bridge over Neshaminy Creek.
• Install a sound barrier wall along southbound U.S. 1 on the bridge over Business Route 1 and CSX/SEPTA rail lines continuing north to Old Lincoln Highway;
• Reconstruct bridges over Rockhill Drive, the Neshaminy Creek (new separate northbound and southbound bridges), and over Business Route 1 and CSX/SEPTA rail lines (new separate northbound and southbound bridges);
• Reconstruct and improve sections of Rockhill Drive, Business Route 1 and Old Lincoln Highway;
• Install 10 new sign structures, three Dynamic Message Signs (DMS), new traffic signals and Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) equipment;
• Relocate water service lines; and
• Upgrade highway drainage and stormwater systems. 

The first phase of the project started in 2018 and involved reconstruction and widening of a 1.3-mile-long section of Route 1 from Old Lincoln Highway to just south of the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s Neshaminy Interchange in Bensalem. The first phase also included improving connections to Street Road and the Pennsylvania Turnpike, improving traffic flow in the area, and upgrading stormwater and stream management.

The under-construction first phase is costing about $100 million and is being funded 80 percent from the federal government and 20 percent from the state.

The soon-to-begin second phase will cost $110.9 million under the same federal-state formula used on the first phase, according to PennDOT officials.

The second phase is expected to be completed by mid-2026.

A proposed third phase would begin at the Penndel/Business Route 1 Interchange and continue just past the Pine Street (Route 413) overpass in Middletown Township. The full details of that phase have not been released. PennDOT has not included a proposed construction start date or cost estimate.

Changes to Route 1 have been discussed by PennDOT for years and only recently became a reality.

Want the latest on the Route 1 project and to contribute updates? Join our Route 1 Improvement Project Facebook group.

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