Route 1 Plan Revisions Lead To Mixed Reactions From Officials

After years of pushback from some area residents, PennDOT revised plans for its 2.7-mile Route 1 overhaul.

The revisions were met with mixed results.

The state transportation department agreed to retain the majority of existing access roads as local streets instead of removing them.

The proposal for Section RC3, which spans from the bridge over the CSX and SEPTA West Trenton Line to just north of the Corn Crib Lane overpass, will impact Langhorne Borough, Langhorne Manor Borough, and Middletown Township.

In the revised design, the access-roads-turned-local-streets will no longer connect directly to the main highway at most current access points and address PennDOT concerns that multiple connections between the planned local streets and the highway would be dangerous.

PennDOT officials stated the changes were prompted by feedback submitted as part of the project’s Environmental Assessment process.

In the spring, Republican state lawmakers Sen. Frank Farry and Rep. Joe Hogan sent a letter to state transportation officials asking whether the access roads could be kept after hearing feedback from residents.

In a written response to the legislators, PennDOT District 6 Executive Din Abazi explained that engineers first recommended selectively removing the access roads to curb speeding and reduce recurring maintenance expenses.

PennDOT has said that municipalities will remain responsible for the local streets along the highway. Municipal officials have confirmed they will keep up the streets.

State and local officials have held discussions in recent months regarding the retention of the roads, which comes amid worries from some residents over the access roads, additional intersections, and neighborhood traffic flows.

The updated RC3 plan retains several proposed features, including a new signalized interchange at Pine Street (Route 413); roundabouts at Gillam and Bellevue avenues, as well as at Pine Street, West Highland Avenue, and Bellevue Avenue; on- and off-ramps accompanied by roundabouts at Old Lincoln Highway and Highland Avenue; and adds a new driveway for Neshaminy High School located closer to the stadium and connected directly to a roundabout.

As reported last week, the No Cloverleaf Coalition, a group that has long opposed parts of the RC3 plan, slammed the project revisions.

“Instead of prioritizing the safety of our community, PennDOT and its legislative enablers are insisting on spending hundreds of millions of dollars on a flawed project that is endangering pedestrians, motorists, historic structures and the very quality of life of our communities,” they said.

The announcement from PennDOT drew reactions from area officials and politicians.

Hogan, the state representative for the area, said that the project falls entirely under the executive authority of Gov. Josh Shapiro and PennDOT, adding the General Assembly will not vote on its design or execution.

The lawmaker said he and his staff have worked to share information with the community and act as a conduit between residents and officials of various viewpoints to PennDOT.

“At no point have I advocated for one version or another of this project because there are many differing views and as a legislator, I do not have any direct input on the final design,” Hogan said in a statement.

Hogan is uneasy that a safety project has become politicized, adding that he will continue advocating for a design that meets federal safety guidelines while preserving community character, he said.

Kristin Egan, the Democratic Candidate running against Hogan and a Neshaminy School Board member, said that while Route 1 needs a reconstruction, the access roads should maintain highway connectivity without pushing traffic and pollution into neighborhoods.

“It’s my understanding that a virtual meeting took place with PennDOT and local elected officials, but they were not provided an opportunity to engage in discussion or ask questions,” Egan said, applauding members of the No Cloverleaf Coalition and concerned residents for opposing the project as planned.

Farry, the state senator, explained that PennDOT holds “complete decision-making power on what happens with the project” and that community feedback helped drive the modifications.

Farry criticized that some local elected officials have worked to make the project a political issue heading into the general election.

“Some of these same people who have politicized the project are trying to scare the community by claiming first responders will not make it to emergencies or be delayed,” Farry, a volunteer fire chief, said in a statement. “We can assure you that your emergency calls will be promptly handled.”

“Fearmongering and half-truths about this project should not be used to scare the public,” he added.

Dan Nicastro, a Langhorne Manor Borough Councilman, criticized the update as a “haphazard” decision. He stated that converting the access lanes into isolated local roads offers “none of the benefits that made them worth preserving in the first place.”

Nicastro said that removing highway access hinders emergency service response times, fails to add protective barriers along the highway, harms local businesses by redirecting traffic, and traps drivers on the highway during bad crashes. He called the decision an “apathetic half-measure” that treated local residents as an afterthought.

The council president cited crash data from Jan. 1, 2019, to Dec. 31, 2024 that recorded 185 crashes along the corridor, including two fatalities.

Nick Pizzola, the Langhorne Manor Borough Council president, said he has supported the RC3 project and believes PennDOT has made improvements that balance resident feedback and safety.

“It’s the repeated merging with Route 1 that causes the accidents,” he said. “I am in favor of the elimination of the hazards of the access lanes.”

Pizzola said disconnecting access roads will eliminate cut-through traffic on Gillam Avenue. He added that PennDOT plans to install traffic-calming measures on Highland Avenue. If needed, the borough retains full local control to designate Gillam and Highland avenues as “Do Not Enter” streets from Bellevue Avenue.

On PennDOT’s handover of the access roads to the borough when the project is complete, Pizzola shared the state plans to resurface the road and make other improvements.

Kathy Horwatt, the Langhorne Borough Council president, said she still has concerns about additional traffic moving through historic areas with the addition of the interchange. She noted that older churches along Pine Street will rumble and be damaged from heavy truck traffic using the interchange.

Pointing to safety concerns on Route 1, which she avoids driving on for that reason, Horwatt believes removing the access roads will worsen traffic problems.

In an interview, Horwatt suggested local police be permitted to use speed radar and participate in red-light enforcement programs to keep borough roads safe. Municipal police are currently not allowed to use radar guns under state law.

“Route 1 is horrendous,” Horwatt said, asking PennDOT to “use common sense” and amend the plans further.

Middletown Township declined comment on the updates to the plan.

The RC3 project has become an election issue, with candidates opposing it gaining seats on the Langhorne and Langhorne Manor boroughs’ councils.

Editor’s Note: When LevittownNow.com first reported on the plan revisions last week, some comments from officials were mistakenly included without asking others for comment to provide a fair and contextual story. The goal was to provide a follow up story, as is presented today. However, a rush to get out of the office led to the wrong draft being published. It was later updated while this article was being reported out. We apologize for any confusion.