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Drivers on I-76, I-95, U.S. Route 1 and U.S. Route 202 will receive the gift of less sinkholes, wider lanes — and some traffic delays heading into the holidays as PennDOT continues work in Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs.
“As the holidays approach, we do our best to avoid any kind of impact to motorists,” PennDOT spokesperson Brad Rudolph said. “In fact, we specify in most of the contracts for contractors and others to avoid peak travel times, which would be Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year.”
There are 147 active and upcoming projects in PennDOT’s District 6, which encompasses Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties.
Here’s what major projects are expected to end, continue and get started heading into 2026:
Ending soon: U.S. Route 1 improvement ‘won’t impact the holidays’
After more than four years of construction, PennDOT “substantially completed” in October the $116 million Section RC2 project on U.S. Route 1 in Bucks County.
The project adds a third lane in each direction, replacing bridges and improving interchanges in Bensalem and Middletown townships. The updates are a year ahead of schedule.
“The first section was done a couple of years ago,” Rudolph said. “We are wrapping up this winter the second section of widening that highway. So, there’s still restrictions periodically on U.S. 1 in Bucks County, specifically Middletown and Bensalem. But again, those should be wrapping up towards the winter and won’t impact the holidays.”
Daily traffic has doubled on I-76 since the 1960s, according to PennDOT. The state has been making a number of improvements on the busy Schuylkill Expressway, including variable speed limits and flex lanes.
“We have preservation and bridge improvement projects going on on I-76 in Philadelphia, which should be wrapping up this winter,” Rudolph said.