U.S. 1 Northbound Reconstruction Heading for Completion by Early 2020
Fall 2019 — Construction to rebuild and widen the northbound side of U.S. 1 in Bensalem Township is heading for completion late this year or early 2020 as work crews this fall complete paving on the widened northbound side of U.S. 1 and finish construction of the northbound side of two new bridges.
By late November, northbound U.S. 1 paving will finish between Old Lincoln Highway and Street Road (Route 132). Traffic will then be shifted onto the new pavement between Old Lincoln Highway and the new ramps to and from northbound U.S. 1 and Street Road (Route 132).
The new ramps to and from northbound U.S. 1 and Street Road (Route 132) will be paved this fall and are expected to be opened to traffic at that time as well. The ramps to and from northbound U.S. 1 on the opposite side of Street Road (Route 132) will then be closed permanently. Widening on the eastbound side of Street Road (Route 132) between U.S. 1 and Kingston Way also will finish prior to the opening of the new ramps.
Northbound widening will then continue north of Street Road (Route 132) — including construction of the northbound side (approximately one-third of the new bridges) of the U.S. 1 bridges over Street Road (Route 132) and the new northbound ramps to the Turnpike — through the end of the year or into early 2020. Construction of the northbound side of the new bridge over the Turnpike’s mainline finished in early fall.
The new northbound U.S. 1 ramps to and from the Turnpike were partially opened in early fall as construction of the U.S. 1 bridge over the Turnpike ramps is completed in phases along with construction of the remainder of the new ramps.
Once the remainder of northbound widening is completed, the remainder of northbound traffic will then shift onto the new pavement, and Stage 3 median reconstruction — including the middle section of the three bridges — will get underway and continue through most of 2020.
Access to and from properties located on both sides of U.S. 1 will continue to be maintained during construction. Properties along the northbound side are accessible via a right turn lane that was established on the northbound side of the work zone or from Street Road (Route 132). Properties along the southbound side of U.S. 1 remain accessible via U.S. 1, Street Road (Route 132), or the southbound ramp to Street Road (Route 132).
Current construction of the $94 million project (RC1) is the first of three PennDOT contracts (RC2, RC3) that will improve more than four miles of U.S. 1 from Old Lincoln Highway in Bensalem Township through Langhorne Borough and Langhorne Manor to north of the Route 413 Interchange in Middletown Township, Bucks County, over the next eight-plus years.
A number of engineering activities for the next phase of the project are taking place along the corridor as well. Motorists may encounter off-peak lane restrictions for some of these activities.
PennDOT in 2014 completed $14.8 million in improvements at the U.S. 1/Maple Avenue Interchange in Middletown Township as part of their overall initiative to modernize and upgrade the U.S. 1 corridor in Bucks County.
Allan Myers Construction, of Worcester, PA, is the general contractor on RC1.