This has not been determined yet. PennDOT is coordinating with the school district, although it is too early in the design process to review the effects on bus routes. Bus stops along the frontage road will be safer because there will be less high-speed traffic on the frontage roads. Any buses that were using the service road to get to the school will use U.S. 1 and get off at the new interchange at the south end of the project.
What height will the sound walls be?
Any commitments to construct a sound wall will not be made until the final design phase of the project. Noise abatement is analyzed through the preliminary design phase. Once a sound wall is considered, the affected communities will be given the opportunity to provide feedback, including support or opposition to potential sound walls. At the same time, the heights are based on the abatement potential and acoustic profiles of the area.
Who will maintain the sidewalk proposed along Bellevue Avenue from the roundabout to the SEPTA bus stop?
Any sidewalk installed adjacent to the roadway is constructed by PennDOT at its expense. Once the project is completed, the local municipality is responsible for maintenance. Typically, a municipality will then turn over maintenance responsibility to the adjacent property owner through the borough or municipal ordinances.
Will there be impacts to commercial properties in the project area?
Any closures that PennDOT’s contractor would need to implement during construction in front of a commercial property will be coordinated with the business owner to find the most convenient time for the closure to affect access to the property.
How can residents view the traffic studies?
The traffic studies will be posted in the fall as a technical report attached to the environmental assessment document.
Do the traffic studies include increased traffic due to the removal of the access roads?
The traffic and safety study will be included as part of the EA document. The document includes the origin and destination study for the redistribution of traffic, which shows where traffic is anticipated to go or be redirected.
The studies include where traffic travels once exiting U.S. 1, and the number of residents who live in the local neighborhoods adjacent to U.S. 1. A fairly large number of people who are currently being redirected live adjacent to U.S. 1. This is a fairly large proportion compared to pass-through and cut-through traffic.
Why won’t a noise wall be constructed on southbound U.S. 1 along Langhorne Manor Borough to block noise and protect property from accidents?
The preliminary design sound wall evaluation is currently under development as part of the environmental clearance process, and the results will be published as part of the finalized EA document.
Once the impacts have been identified in the corridor, the detailed noise abatement recommendations are still pending, and a decision will be made during the final design portion of the project.
Sound walls are not designed or intended to provide safety improvements. Decisions regarding sound walls will be based upon the Federal Highway and PennDOT’s warranted, feasible, and reasonable process as outlined in PennDOT’s Noise Abatement Brochure.
Sound walls in a corridor are typically protected by a single face concrete barrier in front of them to keep people from hitting the noise wall. That by default becomes a safety measure with having a concrete barrier in front of the noise wall to keep traffic from hitting the wall or leaving the highway.
Why did PennDOT reject the Langhorne Borough’s traffic engineering consultant’s plan that kept the service roads and did not include a cloverleaf?
PennDOT and the design team coordinated with Langhorne Borough’s traffic/safety engineer at the time. We reviewed their analysis, and much of what was suggested did not meet the project’s purpose and need. It did not do what they were claiming it would do.
Are the results from the air quality and noise assessments publicly available?
Information collected from the air quality assessment and noise assessment will be incorporated into the environmental assessment document, including the environmental clearance process.
That information is a summary of some of the technical analysis performed, and it will be made public during the draft EA assessment. The project technical documents will be made available as well. PennDOT will seek public comments on the summary information that will come out as part of the EA document.
The information will be made available in a variety of ways. It will be in person at the PennDOT District 6 offices. It will be made available at various public locations throughout the multiple boroughs and townships at their offices. It will be made available online on this website and at public libraries.
What is the purpose of the proposed bicycle path along U.S. 1?
This is being discussed with the municipalities and the public officials. Multiple forms of connections will be made to create a 4-mile loop that runs from Highland Avenue at the south end and loops along the existing service roads up to the Route 413/Pine Street connections with the proposed sidewalk. The potential loop provides various connections in areas where service roads are removed. A service road that needs to be maintained would be established on the shoulder. The road stretches north to the existing sidewalk. This project references the Bucks County Bicycle and Pedestrian master plan that was previously created, along with other references and studies, as a basis for the concept.