After Three Years, the Turnpike Bridge Over Neshaminy Creek Is Almost Done
Bucks Co. & Beyond Daily
Bucks Co. & Beyond Daily
If you've driven the Pennsylvania Turnpike through Bensalem and Bristol Township over the past three years, you've watched the orange barrels inch along between Bensalem Boulevard and the I-95 flyover. That stretch is about to quiet down. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission says its $64.2 million Section D30 reconstruction is scheduled to finish on Oct. 30, 2026, and the headline piece of the job is already standing: a new, wider bridge carrying I-276 over Neshaminy Creek in Bristol and Bensalem townships.
I've driven that corridor enough times that the construction has become part of the scenery. It's good to see the end of it coming into view.
Section D30 started in August 2023. According to the Turnpike Commission's project page, the work rebuilds and widens the mainline from a four-lane roadway to a six-lane divided section from Bensalem Boulevard (Milepost 355) to the I-95 flyover connection. Alongside the new Neshaminy Creek bridge, the project replaces the mainline bridge over Newportville Road, adds stormwater facilities and sound barrier walls, and sets up accommodations for future I-95/I-295 ramp tie-ins.
By the Commission's fall 2026 update, the heavy lifting is largely done. Concrete staining on the new bridge was finished in August. Final wearing course, line striping and rumble strips are in place. What's left is mostly cleanup and finish work: shoulder barrier and guiderail on the access roads, access gates at Milepost 355.3, right-of-way fence, resurfacing of Newportville Road and Leonard Avenue, and converting the last stormwater basin. Once the temporary causeway rock comes out from under the bridge, a wetland will be planted next to it.
The contractor is James D. Morrissey, with Hill International as construction manager and Gannett Fleming as design consultant.
Here's the part that matters if you're hoping for three smooth lanes tomorrow. The adjoining Section C — a $90.5 million rebuild from the Neshaminy Falls Toll Plaza to Bensalem Boulevard — just got underway in September 2026 and is expected to run through December 2029. The Turnpike Commission has been clear: Section D30 will be complete this fall, but it will not open to three lanes of traffic until Section C is finished too.
So Oct. 30 is a construction finish date, not a "three lanes for everyone" ribbon cutting. Limited mainline impacts are still expected through the end of October, with weekday work generally between 6 a.m. and 5 p.m., occasional nighttime lane closures and the possibility of short local-road restrictions near the new bridge.
One piece that does deliver sooner is access. Section D30 adds new access gates at Milepost 355, which the Commission says cuts response time for fire personnel in half. That's a concrete local benefit even while the third travel lane waits on the next phase.
If you live near Newportville Road or Leonard Avenue, watch for short resurfacing closures before the finish date. Downstream, Section C will keep night work and median reconstruction in the picture between Neshaminy Falls and Bensalem Boulevard for years, not weeks. And further out, the Delaware River Bridge replacement is still in the environmental study phase, with a federal Record of Decision expected around April 2028.
When does PA Turnpike Section D30 finish in Bucks County?
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission anticipates completion on Oct. 30, 2026, for the rebuild between Bensalem Boulevard and the I-95 flyover, including the new bridge over Neshaminy Creek.
Will the Turnpike have three lanes open in Bensalem after Oct. 30, 2026?
Not yet. The Commission says the extra lanes built in Section D30 will not open to traffic until adjoining Section C is complete, which is expected in December 2029.
Where is the new Turnpike bridge over Neshaminy Creek?
It carries I-276 over Neshaminy Creek in Bristol and Bensalem townships as part of Section D30 of the I-95 Interchange Project.
Wondering what an easier commute could mean for life in Bensalem and Bristol Township? My Bensalem neighborhood guide and more Bucks County town guides are good places to start.
I’ve watched the Turnpike through this part of Bucks County dig up and rebuild itself for three years, and a finished bridge over Neshaminy Creek is the kind of quiet infrastructure win that makes the commute feel a little more settled. I’m Nick Rau, President of Sales with the Rarity Real Estate Team, ranked in the Top 1% of agents nationally (RealTrends 2025, individual), with more than 135 Google reviews, and I live right here in Bucks County.
Rarity Real Estate Team, 1100 N Delaware Ave Suite A, Philadelphia, PA 19125 · (215) 593-7498 · [email protected]
Questions about Bensalem or Bristol Township? Call (215) 593-7498 or email [email protected].
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Sources: Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, Section D30 project page (https://www.paturnpike.com/traveling/construction/site/i-95-interchange-project/design-construction-details/section-d30), including the Fall 2026 update anticipating Oct. 30, 2026 completion; Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission news release, "Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission Begins New Section of I-95 Interchange Project," Sept. 14, 2026 (https://www.paturnpike.com/media-center/news-and-media/details/2026/09/14/pennsylvania-turnpike-commission-begins-new-section-of-i-95-interchange-project).
Featured photo: Neshaminy Creek near its mouth by Neshaminy State Park in Bensalem, Sept. 2024, a few miles downstream of the new Section D30 Turnpike bridge (file photo; the bridge is not shown). Photo (cropped): Plefkag, CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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