City Avenue

U.S. Route 1 (US 1) is a major north–south U.S. Highway, extending from Key West, Florida, in the south to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian 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 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 freeway, 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 farm fields 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 the East Branch 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 the 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 and 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 the 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 the 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 Baltimore Pike.

At this point, US 1 continues northeast along 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 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 (which until 2003 was also PA 100) in a commercial area. The road continues through wooded areas with some development, passing to the south of the Brandywine Battlefield Park. 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 the 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 the 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, becoming the border between Haverford Township

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