Section RC2 Construction Substantially Completed
The Section RC2 project was substantially completed in September after nearly four and a half years of construction, one year ahead of the original contract completion date.
PennDOT’s $116 million project, the second of three U.S. 1 projects in Bucks County, added a third travel lane in each direction on U.S. 1, replaced several bridges, and improved several interchanges from south of Rockhill Drive to just north of the Penndel/U.S. 1 Interchange in Bensalem and Middletown townships.
Several punch-list items remain to be completed, including bridge deck overlays that will take place at night and stormwater management basin completion work. All work should be completed by early November.
In early summer, PennDOT’s contractor completed connecting sections of reconstructed U.S. 1 to the three new bridges over the Penndel/Business U.S. 1 Interchange, the Neshaminy Creek, and Rockhill Drive at the Neshaminy exit.
A traffic shift in June moved three lanes of northbound and southbound traffic into their permanent alignments (see right) from north of the Pendell/Business U.S. 1 exit through to the Turnpike’s Bensalem Interchange. From there, these Section RC2 improvements connect with the six lanes that were completed in 2022 under the Section RC1 contract.
Throughout the summer, crews completed paving the final “wearing course” and painted pavement markings on rebuilt U.S. 1 and Rockhill Drive.
At Rockhill Drive (see below), turn lanes were added in both directions, and new sidewalks were constructed along both sides of the roadway. The on-ramp to U.S. 1 north was relocated to the southeastern quadrant of the interchange, and the off-ramps from U.S. 1 were widened to two lanes. The signalized intersection west of the Neshaminy Mall traffic signal was removed, and modifications were made to both remaining signalized intersections to improve traffic flow to and from the mall and the Horizon Corporate Center. The new sidewalks, ramps, and signals improve pedestrian accessibility and safety.
Also under Section RC2, noise walls were installed along warranted sections of the highway, the stormwater drainage system was upgraded, and ITS (Intelligent Transportation Systems), including changeable message boards and traffic cameras, were installed.
Section RC1, the first of three projects under PennDOT’s initiative to improve travel and safety on the U.S. 1 corridor in Bucks County, went into construction in late 2018 and finished in late 2022. The $95 million Section RC1 contract widened and improved U.S. 1 from Old Lincoln Highway, at Philadelphia’s eastern border, to the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s Bensalem Interchange.
Section RC1 reconstructed and widened approximately one mile of U.S. 1 and replaced bridges over Street Road (Route 132), the Turnpike, and the Turnpike ramps. The Bristol Road bridge over U.S. 1 was also replaced.
In addition, the U.S. 1 interchange with Street Road (Route 132) was reconstructed. The westbound Street Road ramp to U.S. 1 north was relocated to the south side of the highway, and ramps to and from southbound U.S. 1 were constructed west of U.S. 1 at another new signalized intersection.
Left-turn lanes also were added in both directions at the Turnpike’s westbound slip ramp intersection on Street Road, and a new on-ramp from eastbound Street Road to southbound U.S. 1 also was added.
Section RC1 also included replacement of the ramps to and from U.S. 1 and the Turnpike interchange.
PennDOT in 2014 completed $14.8 million in improvements at the U.S. 1/Maple Avenue Interchange in Middletown Township as part of its 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 U.S. 1 Interchange north through the Route 413 overpass. The project remains in Final Design and is tentatively scheduled for construction in 2029.