U.S. Route 1 in Pennsylvania

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Pennsylvania Route 1 redirects here. For the short-lived Pennsylvania Traffic Route, now U.S. Route 30, see Pennsylvania Route 1 (1920s).

U.S. Route 1

Length:

81 mi^[1] (130 km)

South end:

US 1 at Maryland state line

Major
junctions:

I-476 near Lima

I-76 in Philadelphia

US 13 in Philadelphia

I-276/PA Tpk near Philadelphia

North end:

US 1 at New Jersey state line

Pennsylvania State Routes
< PA 999		PA 1 >
Legislative

U.S. Route 1 is a major north-south U.S. highway, extending from the Florida Keys in the south to the Canadian border in the north. In the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, US 1 runs for 81 miles from the Maryland state line near Oxford to the New Jersey state line near Trenton.

1 Route description
2 Major intersections
3 References

[edit] Route description

Major cities
Morristown Philadelphia Lima Kennett Square Oxford

[edit] Maryland to Interstate 476

US 1 enters Pennsylvania in southwest Chester County. At the border it becomes the John H. Ware III Memorial Highway (formerly Kennet-Oxford Bypass) and widens to a 4 lane divided highway. A mile into Pennsylvania, the Ware Highway diverts north of Baltimore Pike (formerly US 1) and becomes a 4 lane limited access highway. At Kennett Square it rejoins Baltimore Pike and becomes a 4 lane divided highway. It then passes by Longwood Gardens, a year-round botanical garden, and Brandywine Battlefield before intersecting with U.S. Highway 202 in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania (at an intersection commonly known as "Painter's Crossing"). The road winds through Chadds Ford and Wawa, Pennsylvania, wherein it provides an address to the Wawa Dairy Farms, which went on to create Wawa Food Markets, one of the most successful local convenience store chains in the United States. Before arriving in Media, Pennsylvania, it turns left and becomes the "Media Bypass," a freeway that runs to the north of busy downtown Media. Baltimore Pike, meanwhile, becomes a local road, running parallel to, and south of, Route 1 through Media and Springfield, Pennsylvania before terminating in West Philadelphia as Route 13 near the University of Pennsylvania.

[edit] Interstate 476 to Roosevelt Boulevard

After providing drivers access to Interstate 476 (this interchange is one of the busiest on I-476), the route becomes a local road again, first dubbed "State Road", then turns and becomes "Township Line Road" (after splitting with State Road), as it continues north through towns such as Springfield, Drexel Hill, and Upper Darby. For a long time, this portion of Route 1 was the only place in all of Delaware County, Pennsylvania containing a Subway restaurant.

After intersecting PA Route 3 (West Chester Pike) in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, not too far from the SEPTA transit system's 69th Street Terminal, Route 1 drops the "Township Line Road" moniker at Cobbs Creek, which separates Philadelphia and Delaware counties. It is now "City Avenue" (locally known as "City Line Avenue") and acts as a border between the city of Philadelphia and the suburbs of Montgomery County. St. Joseph's University makes its home on this particular stretch of the route, as do Philadelphia television stations WPVI-TV and WCAU-TV, whose studios happen to be on opposite sides of the roadway. Many of the city's radio stations are located just off of City Avenue, mainly in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. As City Avenue, Route 1 crosses US 30 before reaching St. Joe's, the two television stations, and the Schuylkill River.

[edit] Roosevelt Boulevard to New Jersey

Main article: Roosevelt Boulevard (Philadelphia)

Roosevelt Boulevard (US 1) at Rhawn Street in Northeast Philadelphia

At the Schuylkill, US 1 interchanges (and is even a temporary part of) Interstate 76 (the Schuylkill Expressway portion). This, too, is one of the busiest interchanges in the region, witnessing traffic backups in all directions during morning and afternoon rush hours. Now completely within the Philadelphia city limits, it becomes the Roosevelt Expressway upon crossing over the Schuylkill River.

At the end of the expressway, US 1 returns to grade level and becomes Roosevelt Boulevard. This portion of Route 1 is the proverbial lifeline of those wishing to access Northeast Philadelphia and regularly sees traffic tie-ups at all of its major intersections. The Roosevelt Boulevard portion of Route 1 is separated into two sections in each direction (a superhighway "inner drive" portion and a local road "outer drive" portion) and is home to the intersections of Northeast Philadelphia streets Red Lion Road and Grant Avenue, two of the top three most dangerous intersections in the United States. Riders will also pass by the large outdoor Roosevelt Mall and the Northeast Philadelphia Airport before Route 1 junctions with the Pennsylvania Turnpike (at the toll road's "Philadelphia" interchange) just across the Philadelphia/Bucks county line.

In Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Route 1 becomes Lincoln Highway, an accident-prone freeway that ferries motorists to and from southeastern Bucks County towns such as Bensalem and Langhorne. The latter suburb is home to suburban Philadelphia landmarks Oxford Valley Mall and the Sesame Place amusement park, based on characters from PBS' Sesame Street program. Crossing Interstate 95, it proceeds through Morrisville, Pennsylvania before crossing the Delaware River on the Trenton-Morrisville Toll Bridge into Trenton, New Jersey. On this stretch of road, there are many Route 1 signs mistakenly bearing the Pennsylvania Route shield, and not the US highway shield.