As the U.S. 1 Corridor continues to experience increased travel growth, reaching an average daily traffic of over 90,000, PennDOT has made ensuring safety a top priority. To address safety issues, PennDOT is undertaking a multi-phase improvement program to reconstruct, widen, and improve travel on U.S. 1 and select intersections.

The $111 million RC2 Section is the second of three major phases to enhance safety, capacity, and mobility along the corridor. RC2 stretches five miles from south of the Rockhill Drive Interchange to north of the Penndel Interchange. Urban served as the Construction Management Consultant and played a key role in advancing the project’s completion date a full year ahead of schedule.

RC2 Improvements included expanding the highway from two to three lanes in each direction and updating the Neshaminy and Penndel/Business Route 1 interchanges. Major project elements included:

• Constructing two new bridges
• Replacing three existing bridges
• Installing four retaining walls
• Installing 1,700 feet of new sound barriers
• Replacing four catenary towers
• Relocating utilities
• Extensive earthwork, including over 440,000 CY of excavation and 370,000 CY of embankment.

By implementing several innovative strategies, Urban was able to accelerate the project completion date. A revised Traffic Control Plan allowed concurrent construction of the Northbound Neshaminy Creek and Southbound Railroad Bridges. Early completion of the southbound structure enabled a major traffic shift that accelerated activities.

The team also managed sensitive and technically complex tasks, including girder installations beneath live rail and active power lines, community-sensitive blasting, and archaeological preservation, all with zero safety incidents and robust stakeholder support.

Urban led all aspects of construction management for the project, including schedule management, stakeholder engagement, and public outreach.

Quality, Cost, & Schedule Performance

• Schedule Management: Utilizing the Critical Path Method (CPM), Urban enabled concurrent construction of major bridge work and improved site access strategies.
• Cost Management: Open communication and weekly coordination with agencies, such as PECO, CSX, and SEPTA, helped avoid costly delays. When an archaeological discovery required an Environmental Assessment, Urban proposed an alternate retaining wall design, preserving historic assets while saving millions in potential overhead and claims.
• Quality Management: Preconstruction planning, including detailed causeway and structural designs, ensured safe and efficient bridge demolition and construction in compliance with PennDOT standards.

In recognition of its complexity, stakeholder collaboration, and ahead-of-schedule delivery, the project was honored with the 2025 CMAA Mid-Atlantic Project of the Year Award in the Mega Project (over $100 million) category.