Closure of small bridge in Delco causing big headache for Ridley Park
Sellers Avenue Bridge closed in July due to deteriorating conditions. The effort to repair it has fueled a dispute among Ridley Park, Amtrak, and PennDOT.
2 years ago
Construction along Route 1 in Bensalem, Pa. (Google Maps)
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For suburban travelers of U.S. Route 1 and I-95, the new year will bring in wider lanes — and more traffic delays — as the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation continues reconstruction in Bucks, Chester, and Delaware counties.
“With all these big main line projects, there are going to be lane closures, typically pretty consistent with off-peak hours — daily Monday to Friday,” said PennDOT spokesperson Brad Rudolph.
PennDOT will focus its work on the highways of Bucks County primarily on U.S. Route 1. Contractors will add another lane in both directions on the north-south road system and make major improvements on three sections of Lincoln Highway.
The first section of the Bucks County portion was just completed in late November. The $95 million project started at Old Lincoln Highway and ended at the Pennsylvania Turnpike Interchange.
The second phase, the section of road between the Rockhill Drive Interchange in Bensalem and U.S. Business 1 in Middletown, began in March 2021 and is still under construction.
The 1.5-mile section entails reconstructing bridges, improving interchanges, and creating sound barriers. It will cost approximately $110.8 million to complete. The project is slated to finish by late 2026.
Contractors are scheduled to begin construction on the third and final section of the Bucks County portion of U.S. 1 in late 2026 or early 2027, Rudolph said. This section stretches for 2.6 miles along Lincoln Highway — starting from above U.S. Business 1 to just north of the Corn Crib Lane overpass in Langhorne.
Rudolph said contractors will improve bridges, reconstruct interchanges, and increase safety and mobility. The third phase is likely to conclude by early 2030. The cost of this portion is still to be determined; PennDOT needs to select a contractor.
Residents of Chester and Delaware counties can expect pavement resurfacing along a 6-mile stretch of U.S. Route 1. The $15 million project began in April 2021, but it will be coming to an end at the beginning of 2023.
A new $10.4 million endeavor to widen a 1.3-mile section of U.S. Route 1 in Chester County just began in November 2022 and likely won’t be complete until October 2025.
In Delco, PennDOT is working on a pavement and structure rehabilitation project on the county’s entire section of I-95. The project began in 2019 and will likely be complete by the end of 2023 or early 2024. Most of the paving is already complete.
“Drivers are pretty much riding on new pavement on that whole stretch of 95 in Delaware County,” Rudolph said.
PennDOT is also working on a high-priority bridge repair project across Bucks, Delaware, and Philadelphia counties on I-95 and I-476. This began in March 2020 and should be completed in May 2024.
The $44.6 million project will look to address deficiencies in about 13 bridges in the region.
All of the projects are on schedule and on budget.