Work Starts On New U.S. 1 Widening In Bensalem, Middletown

BENSALEM, PA — Work on a new phase of the widening of U.S. 1 in Bucks County got started on Monday, PennDOT said.

This phase of the project aims to widen and improve a 1.5-mile section of the highway between the Neshaminy and Penndel/Business U.S. 1 interchanges in Bensalem and Middletown.

U.S. 1 will be reduced to one lane in each direction from 8 p.m.-5 a.m. the following morning on Monday through Wednesday while crews set a construction barrier along the northbound and southbound shoulders of U.S. 1, PennDOT said.

The work will begin at the ramps on the north side of the Neshaminy interchange. Crews also will be placing barriers along the ramp from southbound Business U.S. 1 (Old Lincoln Highway) at the Penndel/Business U.S. 1 exit to southbound U.S. 1., reducing that ramp to a single lane.

Once the barriers are up, crews will be working behind them to start clearing work and installing environmental controls before beginning large-scale excavation of embankments on both sides of the highway.

There are expected to be periodic nighttime lane closures on U.S. 1 in the days to come, officials said.

JD Eckman, Inc., of Atglen, is the contractor on the $110.9 million phase of the project, which is paid for with 80 percent federal and 20 percent state money. The current phase is scheduled to be finished in mid-2026.

It is the second of three construction contracts to rebuild and widen U.S. 1, replace aging bridges and add other safety improvements on a four-mile stretch of the highway from just north of Philadelphia to just north of Rt. 413 (Pine Street) in Middletown Township and Langhorne Borough.

You can find more details on the project from PennDOT at this link.