New Route 1 Bridge In Middletown Nearly Finished

A new of the new Route 1 bridge from Business Route 1 in Middletown Township on Wednesday.
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com

PennDOT has announced the new bridge carrying Route 1 over Old Lincoln Highway and the freight and passenger train lines is “substantially completed.”

With the bridge work nearing completion, a new traffic pattern in Bensalem and Middletown townships to shift traffic onto the new bridge is set to begin next week.

PennDOT officials outlined the following travel updates along Route 1:

• On Tuesday, November 29 through Thursday, December 1 from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. the following morning, periodic lane closures will be in place on northbound and/or southbound Route 1 between the Neshaminy and Pine Street (Route 413) exits for barrier placement and line striping.

• On Monday, November 28 and Thursday, December 1 from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. the following morning, periodic stoppages of up to 15 minutes will occur on southbound Old Lincoln Highway where it passes under Route 1 for removal of underside shielding and related hardware on the overhead bridge.

• By Wednesday morning, November 30 northbound Route 1 traffic will be shifted onto the outer half of new northbound bridge. A new pattern shifting southbound vehicles onto the inner half of the new bridge is expected to be set up and in place by Saturday, December 17. Following the southbound shift, the project contractor will begin demolition of the original bridge and construction of the adjacent southbound structure. The shift is weather permitting.

PennDOT officials asked drivers to give extra time when traveling through the work areas.

This week, crews were busy removing underside shielding and related hardware on the new bridge.

PennDOT is in the middle of an ongoing reconstruction and widening of almost three miles of roadway, improving the interchanges, and constructing several new bridges, including the new bridge over Old Lincoln Highway and the train tracks.

The Route 1 project is on Phase 2. The second phase will widen the highway.

The $95 million Phase 1 of the project in Bensalem Township is mostly completed.

The $111.5 million Phase 2 of the project is being carried out by Chester County-based contractor JD Eckman Inc. The work is expected to be done in mid-2026.

A proposed third phase would begin at the Penndel Interchange and continue just past the Pine Street (Route 413) overpass in Middletown Township.