Route 1 Phase II A Year Ahead Of Schedule: PennDOT

LOWER BUCKS COUNTY, PA —Two new bridges are almost finished as the $111 million Route 1 Improvements Project progresses this summer toward a Phase 2 completion.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation recently provided a summer update on new bridges at three locations along Interstate 1 in Bensalem and Middletown townships under the project to widen and improve the highway.

RC2 construction is expected to be completed in mid-2025, approximately a year ahead of the original contract completion date.

Deck construction on the U.S. 1 southbound structure over the Penndel/Business 1 Interchange and adjacent rail lines finished in late spring, PennDOT said.

Work at that location this summer will focus on the construction of the bridge’s approach pavement, completion of parapets, and installation of sound wall panels along the southbound lanes approaching the new bridge.

Meanwhile, PennDOT said the new southbound bridge is expected to be finished and carrying traffic by late summer. The northbound bridge was finished in spring 2023.

At the bridge over the Neshaminy Creek, abutments and center piers for the new northbound bridge over the creek along with retaining walls at the bridge’s approaches are nearing completion.

Beam setting and deck construction are scheduled to start in July and finish later this year, PennDOT said.

Construction of the new southbound bridge over the creek was finished in mid-2023 and is now carrying four lanes of northbound and southbound traffic through the work area.

Construction is nearing completion at the southbound U.S. 1 bridge over Rockhill Drive at the Neshaminy Exit south of the creek. Deck beams were set in April and deck construction finished in late fall. Parapet construction will finish in late summer.

Adjacent to and under the bridge, work continues on the ramps on the southbound side of the interchange and on improvements to Rockhill Drive that are part of the interchange upgrade.

While the on-ramp to southbound U.S. 1 is still closed for construction, the southbound U.S. 1 off-ramp to Rockhill Drive remains open during construction.

The opening of the new southbound bridge over Rockhill Drive and the adjacent southbound on-ramp is expected to reopen later this summer in coordination with the opening of the new southbound bridge at the Penndel/Business 1 Interchange.

The new northbound bridge at the Neshaminy Interchange also finished last summer, PennDOT said.

Between the three bridges, U.S. 1 is being widened to a third lane in each direction. Pavement is being placed at locations between the bridges as excavation and drainage improvements are completed in those areas. Paving will continue through late this year. The final paving course will be placed along the entire project area next spring.

Section RC2 is part two of PennDOT’s three-phase project to improve four miles of U.S. 1 in Bucks County by reconstructing and widening the pavement, building several bridges, and improving several interchanges along a continuous three-mile section of highway in Bensalem and Middletown townships.

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.

A third project, RC3, will improve U.S. 1 from the Penndel/Business 1 Interchange north through the Route 413 overpass. The project remains in Final Design and is not yet scheduled for construction.