Route 1 Phase II Project Completed In Lower Bucks Co.

LOWER BUCKS COUNTY, PA — The second phase of the Eoute 1 Improvements Project has been completed, PennDOT said.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said that construction has been completed on a $116 million project to reconstruct, widen, and improve a 1.5-mile section of Route 1 between the Neshaminy and Penndel/Business Route 1 interchanges in Bensalem and Middletown townships.

The U.S. 1 Section RC2 project, which began in March 2021, is the third of four contracts that PennDOT has completed to reconstruct, widen, and improve the U.S. 1 expressway in Bucks County.

Improvements under the RC2 contract included:

• Constructing a third travel lane in each direction from just north of the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s Bensalem Interchange to the Penndel/Business U.S. 1 Interchange.
• Reconfiguring and improving the Neshaminy Interchange by widening Rockhill Drive to include left and right turn lanes; rebuilding the on- and off-ramps to and from southbound U.S. 1; and relocating northbound off- and on-ramps to a signalized intersection on Rockhill Drive.
• Improving the Penndel/Business U.S. 1 Interchange by upgrading the ramps to current design standards and installing longer ramp acceleration/deceleration lanes.
• Constructing new retaining walls along the northbound exit ramp at the Neshaminy Interchange and along northbound U.S. 1 north and south of the bridge over Neshaminy Creek.
• Installing a sound barrier wall along southbound U.S. 1 on the bridge over Business U.S. 1 and CSX/SEPTA rail lines continuing north to Old Lincoln Highway.
• Replacing U.S. 1 bridges over Rockhill Drive, the Neshaminy Creek (new separate northbound and southbound bridges), and over Business U.S. 1 and CSX/SEPTA rail lines (new separate northbound and southbound bridges).
• Reconstructing and improving sections of Rockhill Drive, Business U.S. 1, and Old Lincoln Highway.
• Installing 10 new sign structures, three Dynamic Message Signs (DMS), new traffic signals and Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) equipment.
• Relocating water service lines.
• Upgrading highway drainage and stormwater systems.

JD Eckman, Inc., of Atglen, PA, was the general contractor on this project, which was financed with 80 percent federal and 20 percent state funds.

Phase 1 Of the Project

Section RC1 construction, which was completed in 2022, improved more than a mile of U.S. 1 between Old Lincoln Highway and the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s Bensalem Interchange in Bensalem Township by widening U.S. 1 to three lanes in each direction; reconstructing the Street Road (Route 132) Interchange; rebuilding the ramps to-and-from the Turnpike; and reconstructing the U.S. 1 bridges over Street Road (Route 132) and the Turnpike as well as the Bristol Road bridge over U.S. 1.

Section LHB construction, which was completed in 2014, included replacing the U.S. 1 Bridge over Maple Avenue and increasing the vertical clearance; widening U.S. 1 to add/extend the deceleration and acceleration lane lengths for the exit and entrance ramps of U.S. 1; adding a stacking lane to the U.S. 1 northbound exit ramp; realigning and reconstructing the interchange ramps to accommodate improvements; and optimizing traffic signal timings at the U.S. 1 ramp intersections with Maple Avenue.

Upcoming Phase III Project

A fourth project, Section RC3, will improve a 2.7-mile section of U.S. 1 from north of the Penndel/Business U.S. 1 Interchange to north of the Corn Crib Lane overpass in Middletown Township and Langhorne Manor and Langhorne boroughs. Section RC3 is currently progressing through Environmental Clearance.

For more information on this project and PennDOT’s U.S. 1 reconstruction program in Bucks County, visit www.us1bucks.com.