U.S. Route 1 in Pennsylvania
U.S. Route 1 is a major north–south U.S. Route, extending from Key West, Florida, in the south to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canada–United States border in the north. In the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, US 1 runs for from the Maryland state line near Nottingham northeast to the New Jersey state line at the Delaware River in Morrisville, through the southeastern portion of the state. The route runs southwest to northeast and serves as a major arterial road through the city of Philadelphia and for many of the suburbs in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. South of Philadelphia, the road mostly follows the alignment of the Baltimore Pike. Within Philadelphia, it mostly follows Roosevelt Boulevard. North of Philadelphia, US 1 parallels the route of the Lincoln Highway. Several portions of US 1 in Pennsylvania are freeways, including from near the Maryland state line to Kennett Square, the bypass of Media, the concurrency with Interstate 76 and the Roosevelt Expressway in Philadelphia, and between Bensalem Township and the New Jersey state line.
Route description
Chester County
US 1 enters Pennsylvania from Maryland in West Nottingham Township, Chester County, heading northeast as a two-lane undivided road that soon widens into a four-lane divided highway. The road curves north and runs through fields and woods with some development, becoming a four-lane freeway that is called the Kennett–Oxford Bypass and dedicated as the John H. Ware III Memorial Highway. The route runs through rural land with some nearby homes and commercial development, coming to a partial cloverleaf interchange with Pennsylvania Route 272 west of the community of Nottingham. From here, US 1 curves to the northeast and continues into East Nottingham Township, passing through a mix of farmland and woodland with some residences. The freeway skirts into the western portion of the borough of Oxford and reaches a diamond interchange with PA 472 that serves the borough. The route runs through more rural areas with some nearby development and enters Lower Oxford Township, where it bends to the east-northeast and comes to a partial cloverleaf interchange with PA 10 that also provides access to Oxford. US 1 continues through farmfields and woods and crosses the West Branch Big Elk Creek before it heads into Upper Oxford Township, where it has a partial cloverleaf interchange with PA 896.The freeway crosses Big Elk Creek into Penn Township and heads east to a diamond interchange at PA 796 north of the community of Jennersville. The route passes through a mix of fields, woods, and residential development as it continues east into London Grove Township and crosses Middle Branch White Clay Creek before it comes to a partial cloverleaf interchange at PA 841 north of the borough of West Grove. US 1 curves northeast and reaches a diamond interchange serving PA 41 northwest of the borough of Avondale. The freeway continues through rural land with some development and bends to the east, crossing the East Branch White Clay Creek, heading into New Garden Township, and coming to a partial cloverleaf interchange at Newark Road north of the community of Toughkenamon. The route heads through wooded areas with some nearby residential development and crosses West Branch Red Clay Creek before it skirts into the southern portion of East Marlborough Township, where it has a diamond interchange with PA 82 north of the borough of Kennett Square. From here, US 1 continues east and enters Kennett Township, where it crosses East Branch Red Clay Creek and passes near more development, coming to the northern terminus of the freeway at a southbound exit and northbound entrance with the Baltimore Pike.
At this point, US 1 continues northeast along the four-lane divided East Baltimore Pike into East Marlborough Township and passes businesses, widening to six lanes. Along this divided highway stretch of US 1, a few intersections are controlled by jughandles. The road narrows to four lanes and passes near homes and businesses, before coming to an interchange that provides access to Longwood Gardens and the Brandywine Valley Tourism Information visitor center to the north of the road, at which point it crosses back into Kennett Township. A short distance later, US 1 comes to an intersection with PA 52, at which point that route heads onto the East Baltimore Pike concurrent with US 1. The road heads into wooded areas with some homes and businesses, at which point PA 52 splits in the community of Hamorton to continue southeast toward the city of Wilmington, Delaware. The route turns to the northeast and crosses into Pennsbury Township, where the official name becomes Baltimore Pike. The road curves to the east again and passes through more woodland with some residential and commercial development, crossing an East Penn Railroad line at-grade before heading across the Brandywine Creek.
Delaware County
Upon crossing the Brandywine Creek, US 1 continues into Chadds Ford Township in Delaware County and passes to the north of the Brandywine Museum of Art. The route heads into the community of Chadds Ford and comes to an offset intersection with Creek Road in a commercial area. The road continues through wooded areas with some development, passing to the south of Brandywine Battlefield. The route curves northeast and heads into areas of businesses, intersecting US 202/US 322 in Painters Crossing. Here, US 322 heads north along US 202 and turns east to join US 1 in a concurrency along Baltimore Pike, running past more commercial establishments in Concord Township. In Concordville, US 322 splits to the southeast and US 1 continues along Baltimore Pike, intersecting Concord Road before heading into more wooded areas with occasional businesses and crossing the West Branch Chester Creek.The route curves to the east and enters the borough of Chester Heights, running past businesses before heading into forested areas, where it passes north of the corporate headquarters of Wawa. The road turns northeast and crosses the Chester Creek into Middletown Township. The route passes under SEPTA's West Chester Branch northwest of Wawa Station, which serves as the terminus of SEPTA's Media/Wawa Line. US 1 heads through the community of Wawa and continues into commercial areas, coming to an intersection with PA 452 in the community of Lima. Following this, the route continues east and passes between the Promenade at Granite Run residential and retail center to the north and Riddle Hospital to the south, coming to an interchange with PA 352. A short distance later, US 1 splits from Baltimore Pike at an interchange by heading northeast onto the Media Bypass, a four-lane freeway which bypasses the borough of Media to the north. The Baltimore Pike interchange is a northbound exit and southbound entrance that also features a U-turn ramp from northbound US 1 to southbound US 1. US 1 runs through wooded areas with some nearby homes and crosses Ridley Creek into Upper Providence Township. The freeway continues northeast before it curves to the east and comes to a diamond interchange at PA 252 in the community of Rose Tree. The route runs through more wooded areas with some homes and reaches a southbound exit and northbound entrance at State Road. Following this, US 1 crosses Crum Creek into Marple Township and comes to a three-level diamond interchange at I-476.
Past the I-476 interchange, US 1 continues east and heads into business areas, where the freeway ends and the route becomes four-lane divided South State Road, passing south of a shopping center. The route crosses into Springfield Township and reaches a diamond interchange with PA 320, with the southbound exit providing access to the shopping center. The road continues into residential areas and becomes North State Road upon crossing Springfield Road. US 1 curves northeast and crosses Darby Creek into Upper Darby Township, where it heads into business areas. State Road splits to the northeast and the route becomes Township Line Road, which heads north into Drexel Hill as a four-lane undivided road through residential neighborhoods. The road passes commercial development and curves to the northeast, forming the border between Haverford Township to the northwest and Upper Darby Township to the southeast. US 1 continues past homes as it heads through Drexel Hill, crossing Drexel Avenue and passing to the southeast of the Llanerch Country Club. The route heads into the community of Llanerch, where it gains a center left-turn lane and passes between a shopping center to the northwest and residences to the southeast. The road crosses Naylors Run and Darby Road/Lansdowne Avenue before it reaches an intersection with PA 3 a short distance later. From here, US 1 becomes a four-lane undivided road and continues northeast past residences and a few businesses before passing northwest of a golf course. The route passes over SEPTA's Norristown High Speed Line south of Township Line Road station before it comes to a bridge over Cobbs Creek. Upon crossing Cobbs Creek, US 1 runs along the border between Haverford Township in Delaware County to the northwest and the city of Philadelphia in Philadelphia County to the southeast, passing between homes to the northwest and a golf course to the southeast.