Coalition Forms To Fight Route 1 Reconstruction

LOWER BUCKS COUNTY, PA — A coalition has formed to fight the Phase 3 reconstruction of the Route 1 Improvements Project, stating that the reconstruction would

The No-Cloverleaf Coalition is a grassroots organization of citizens from Langhorne Borough, Langhorne Manor Borough, and Middletown Township.

The organization is planning a public information session outlining the negative impacts of PennDOT’s planned Phase 3 reconstruction of Route 1 through the three Lower Bucks Couny communities.

The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 23, at the Jesse Soby American Legion Post, 115 West Richardson Avenue in Langhorne.

Meanwhile, PennDOT will hold a virtual public meeting to address residents' concerns about safety and congestion along a 2.7-mile section of Route 1 the day before.

Phase 3 of the project will extend from just north of the bridges carrying Route 1 over the CSX/SEPTA rail lines and Business Route 1 to just north of the bridge carrying Corn Crib Lane over Route 1 in U.S. 1 in Middletown Township, and Langhorne Manor and Langhorne boroughs, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said.

The coalition questions the Phase 3 project rollout.

At a June Phase 3 meeting, PennDOT officials, consultants and a State Sen. Frank Farry representative stated that the plans were still in development, and no decisions had been made, the coalition said.

“PennDOT selected its current RC3 option at a closed-door meeting that excluded residents of all three municipalities as well as Langhorne Borough’s government leaders,” said the No-Cloverleaf Coalition. “We agree with proposals to make US 1 safer, but the community needs to have all of the facts around this project. If PennDOT persists in building it as planned, all of us will be forced to live with the consequences forever.”

PennDOT solicited an agreement from Middletown Township and Langhorne Manor Borough officials in 2020 for its scheme to eliminate the existing service roads and build a partial cloverleaf highway interchange to funnel traffic into Langhorne Borough. PennDOT anticipates construction beginning in 2029, the coalition stated.

The coalition said that Langhorne Borough officials, who were excluded from the initial meeting, have "consistently opposed" the PennDOT plan based on environmental, safety, quality of life, and other factors.

Langhorne Borough’s traffic consultant, SAFE Engineering, has developed an alternative plan that would retain the service roads and be $60 million cheaper than PennDOT's plan.

The No-Cloverleaf Coalition said that opposition to the Phase 3 improvements is mounting, with two recent standing-room only public information sessions.

The coalition said that its meeting will discuss:

Among the topics that will be discussed are:

• PennDOT’s planned elimination of the service roads that currently parallel US 1, with the intention of funneling all traffic onto PA 413 and a new Neshaminy High School exit.
• Anticipated traffic volume increases and increased safety issues on the local road network as a result of the service road elimination.
• PennDOT’s planned elimination of the Hulmeville Avenue exit, increasing local traffic and leading to longer travel times.
• Greater risk to pedestrians due to traffic increases on local streets.
• Impact on local businesses that rely on the service roads to allow customer access or to minimize their footprint on the community.
• Impact on structures in and around the Langhorne Borough National Register Historic District.
• Exacerbation of backups that already exist at the start of Neshaminy High School days, and traffic increases before and after school days.

For more information, please go to the No-Cloverleaf Facebook page.