U.S. Route 1 (US 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 Delaware Valley 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 (I-76, Schuylkill Expressway) 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 (PA 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.