The next phase of connecting the Pennsylvania Turnpike to Interstate 95 in Bucks County is underway with the start of a $90.5-million reconstruction and widening project.
This work is to be done on the turnpike for approximately 5 miles between the Neshaminy Falls Toll Plaza and Bensalem Boulevard. Officials said it is "part of the broader I-95 Interchange Project, connecting Interstate 95 (I-95) and the Pennsylvania Turnpike."
The connection, planned for some 60 years, was opened in 2018, finally making I-95 continuous in the Mid-Atlantic region of the county and taking that traffic off of local roads in Bucks County.
“Opening the I-95 connection was a historic milestone, but it was not the end of our work,” Brad Heigel, a Pennsylvania Turnpike
Commission chief engineer, said in a news release. “This next phase builds off that investment by reconstructing and widening this section of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, resulting in a modern roadway with greater capacity to support safer, more reliable travel through Bucks County and along one of the nation’s most important transportation corridors.”
The project is to add travel lanes in both directions of the turnpike, extending from just west of Richlieu Road in Bensalem to the new turnpike bridge over Neshaminy Creek in Bristol Township. This is an older section of the turnpike, and the commission is reconstructing aging roadway, officials said.
Since 1999, approximately 174 miles has undergone total reconstruction, including rebuilding of the roads, improving median and shoulders and reducing congestion.
According to turnpike commission officials, the project in Bensalem and Bristol Township begins this month with crews working on the "center median to prepare for future traffic shifts. This initial work will occur primarily at night, with lane closures expected from September through October."
Construction is to proceed in phases and continue through the end of 2029.
Eventually, crews are to build a new traffic lane in each direction while traffic remains on the existing lanes. Once complete, is to traffic shifts onto them and crews reconstruct the roadway between.
Two lanes of traffic are to remain open in each direction during peak hours for the duration of the project, according to the commission.
"Additional improvements include new sound barrier wall construction, new stormwater drainage and stormwater management facility installation, demolition of the existing Neshaminy Falls Toll Plaza, and construction of a new Open Road Tolling gantry in its place," the news release said.
Once this major project is complete, the turnpike is to continue to another 2.3-mile section. The final piece is the planned replacement of the Delaware River Bridge, which is in the design phase now.
A decision on which design to go with isn't expected till April 2028, and years of construction would follow.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: PA Turnpike to be reconstructed, widened in Bensalem, Bristol Twp at I-95
