Langhorne BoroughCouncil members want the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to reconsider key parts of its $334-million overhaul of Route 1, including a controversial partial cloverleaf at Pine Street and Route 413.
The 7-0 vote, which came at this month’s council meeting, seeks what council President Kathy Horwatt said is a safer, cheaper alternative that would feature a roundabout rather than the two-leaf cloverleaf.
“PennDOT originally proposed what we want back in 2020,” Horwatt said.
Council members prefer the earlier version, she added.
The project, called “RC3” by the state, is to improve a 2.7-mile stretch of Route 1 from north of the Penndel/Business U.S. 1 Interchange to the Corn Crib Lane overpass at Woods Services in Middletown.
Local authorities cite PennDOT’s own safety data for their opposition: More than nine crashes per year are expected at two planned signalized intersections at the Route 413/Pine Street Interchange.
In their resolution, council members note that PennDOT’s website acknowledges roundabouts are safer, reducing injury crashes by 51%.
The highway reconfigurations are to change traffic patterns through parts of Middletown, Langhorne Borough and Langhorne Manor Borough. Local officials and residents have expressed concern that excess traffic will spill onto quiet residential neighborhoods, particularly Gilliam Avenue in Langhorne Borough and Jeffrey Lane in Middletown.
PennDOT has said its plan delivers safety and smooth travel on Route 1/Superhighway, which was built in the 1950s. Road building standards have changed, and the agency intends to make Route 1 into a modern, controlled access highway.
The council members also want PennDOT to keep several miles of service roads that run parallel to Superhighway that connect Route 1 directly with residential neighborhoods in the borough and Middletown.
PennDOT wanted the service roads largely eliminated and completely disconnected from access to Route 1. It reversed that last June, keeping the service roads but still not allowing them to have direct access to Route 1.
The state’s plans have mobilized locals in all three municipalities. A grassroots group called the No Cloverleaf Coalition has packed public meetings alongside local officials to oppose the state's plan.
JD Mullane can be reached at jmullane@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Langhorne council formally opposes PennDOT's Route 1 plans
