PA Turnpike $90.5M Reconstruction Project Begins

LOWER BUCKS COUNTY, PA — The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is starting the reconstruction and widening of Interstate 276 between the Neshaminy Falls Toll Plaza and Bensalem Boulevard.

The Commission said the $90.5 million project is part of the broader I-95 Interchange Project, connecting Interstate 95 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

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That connection has reduced congestion on local Bucks County roads and improved traffic flow throughout the Philadelphia region and along the East Coast.

"Opening the I-95 connection was a historic milestone, but it was not the end of our work," PA Turnpike Commission Chief Engineer Brad Heigel said in a statement.

Heigel said this phase will result 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 adds travel lanes in each direction, extending from just west of Richlieu Road in Bensalem Township to the new Pennsylvania Turnpike bridge over Neshaminy Creek in Bristol Township.

Starting this month, crews will reconstruct the Pennsylvania Turnpike's center median to prepare for future traffic shifts.

The initial work takes place primarily at night, with lane closures expected from September through October.

Officials said that construction will proceed in phases:

• First, temporary concrete barriers will be installed to establish long-term shoulder closures and create space for tree clearing, earthwork and other construction activities beginning later this fall.
• Crews will then build a new lane in each direction while traffic remains on the existing lanes. Once complete, traffic shifts onto them and crews reconstruct the roadway between.
• Two lanes of traffic will remain open in each direction during peak hours for the duration of the project.
• 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.

Work on this portion of the roadway, known as Section C of the I-95 Interchange Project, is expected through December 2029.