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Route History for US 1 in Pennsylvania

• In 1926, US 1 was marked as PA 1 from the Delaware River to Philadelphia, and PA 12 from Philadelphia to the Maryland state line. From the Delaware River, the route followed what is now PA 32, to Business US 1, to PA 213, to Old Lincoln Highway, to Roosevelt Boulevard through northeast Philadelphia. In Philadelphia, the route followed what is now PA 611 toward downtown, turning and crossing the Schuylkill River via Spring Street, then following what is now US 13 to Baltimore Avenue and the Baltimore Pike. PA 12 followed what is now US 1 from west of Media to Longwood. From Longwood, PA 12 followed Cypress Street, East State Street, and West State Street through Kennett Square. From there, PA 12 followed what is now the West Baltimore Pike, the Baltimore Pike, and PA 41 through Avondale. From Avondale, PA 12 followed the East Baltimore Pike, West Evergreen Street, and the West Baltimore Pike to Jennersville. From there, PA 12 followed the Baltimore Pike, Lincoln Street, and South 3rd Street through Oxford, then followed the Baltimore Pike to the Maryland state line. The entire route through Pennsylvania was paved.
• By 1928 the route was renumbered US 1.
• Between 1940 and 1946, US 1 was rerouted through downtown Philadephia, following what is now PA 611 to PA 3 to US 13.
• By 1950, US 1 had been rerouted again, this time away from downtown Philadelphia. Instead of turning down what is now PA 611, US 1 continued straight, following what is now US 13 to the Baltimore Pike.
• By 1955, some sections of US 1 south of Philadelphia were being widened.
• By 1961, US 1 north of Philadelphia was being widened to 4 lanes, crossing the new bridge over the Delware River, but still followed what is now Business US 1 to Philadelphia. In Philadephia, the Roosevelt Expressway was completed, rerouting US 1 to its current path through Philadelphia. South of Philadelphia, US 1 was widened to 4 lanes as far south as Longwood.
• By 1966, US 1 had been realigned onto a limited access highway between Longwood and Avondale. This is also the time when the first small section of I 95 in Pennsylvania was opened just north of Philadelphia.
• By 1974, the US 1 limited access highway from Longwood to the Maryland state line was completed, realigning the road to the north slightly.
• By 1979, the western part of the Martin Luther King Jr. Expressway had been completed, allowing US 1 to be rerouted around Levittown so it followed what is now Business US 1 and PA 213 to the Martin Luther King Jr. Expressway, and in to Philadelphia. In addition, almost all of I 95 was completed by 1979 (except a small section around Philadelphia International Airport which was completed by 1988), providing an alternate to US 1 in this section of Pennsylvania.
• By 1988, the US 1 limited access highway from Trenton, New Jersey to Philadelphia had been completed.

Key to Abbreviations for Route Numbers:

• US - US Highway
• I - Interstate Highway (Eisenhower Interstate System)
• PA - Pennsylvania State Highway

External websites of interest:

• Additional historical information about US 1 in Pennsylvania can be found on the Pennsylvania Highways website.
• A 1956 photo of US 1 in Philadelphia can be found on the PhillyHistory.org website.

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