Pennsylvania Route 263
Route information | ||
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Maintained by PennDOT | ||
Length | 20.139 mi[1] (32.411 km) | |
Existed | 1928[2]–present | |
Major junctions | ||
South end | PA 611 in Willow Grove | |
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North end | Centre Bridge–Stockton Bridge in Centre Bridge | |
Location | ||
Country | United States | |
State | Pennsylvania | |
Counties | Montgomery, Bucks | |
Highway system | ||
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Pennsylvania Route 263 (PA 263) is a north–south
(US 202) in Buckingham and narrows to a two-lane road, splitting with that route in Lahaska. From here, the route continues through rural areas to Centre Bridge.PA 263 follows a part of the alignment of Old York Road, which was laid out in 1711. In 1911, the portion of the current route south of Lahaska became part of Legislative Route 155. When Pennsylvania designated its state highways, PA 263 was assigned to its current alignment between Willow Grove and Centre Bridge in 1928.
Route description
Montgomery County
The route briefly forms the border between the borough of Hatboro to the east and Upper Moreland Township to the west before fully entering Hatboro past the Newington Drive intersection. Here, PA 263 heads north prior to turning northeast and intersecting Horsham Road.[3] At this point, the route crosses the Pennypack Creek and heads into downtown Hatboro as a three-lane road with a center left-turn lane.[3][4] The route turns north at Byberry Road and becomes North York Road at the Moreland Avenue intersection before it comes to a junction with the western terminus of PA 332 (East Montgomery Avenue).[3] After intersecting Summit Avenue, PA 263 leaves the downtown area and continues north, passing residential areas with a few businesses. Further north, the route widens into a four-lane undivided road.[3][4]
Bucks County
At the intersection with County Line Road, PA 263 briefly becomes a four-lane divided highway and enters Warminster Township in Bucks County as York Road.[5] In Warminster Township, the route turns into a five-lane road with a center left-turn lane and passes several businesses as it comes to the PA 132 (Street Road) junction, where it becomes into a four-lane divided highway that heads to the west of Archbishop Wood Catholic High School. The divided highway section ends at Roberts Road.[4][5] PA 263 gains a center left-turn lane again as it continues north through more residential areas with a few businesses.[4] Just before Bristol Road, Old York Road splits off from the route to run parallel to the west and PA 263 curves more to the northeast, retaining the name York Road.[5]
At the junction with Bristol Road in the community of Hartsville, PA 263 enters Warwick Township and becomes a four-lane undivided highway as it turns north and runs through wooded areas with some homes, briefly becoming a divided highway as it passes over Creek Road and Little Neshaminy Creek on a bridge. The road again turns into a divided highway briefly as it intersects Old York Road. The route passes near residential and commercial development as it regains a center left-turn lane, reaching an intersection with Almshouse Road in the community of Jamison.[4][5] After Almshouse Road, PA 263 continues north through business areas before heading past residential development, passing to the east of the Middle Bucks Institute of Technology.[4] The route turns back into a divided highway as it crosses over the Neshaminy Creek in the community of Bridge Valley and regains a center left-turn lane as it passes through areas woodland and homes.[4][5] The road leaves Warwick Township for Buckingham Township at the Sugar Bottom Road intersection.[5]
PA 263 narrows to two lanes past this intersection and comes to a junction with US 202 a short distance later, where it forms a concurrency with US 202. This intersection has no access from northbound PA 263 to southbound US 202; access is provided via PA 413. The two routes run along a two-lane undivided road that heads through fields and woodland with some development, passing through the community of Holicong and crossing Lahaska Creek.[4][5] Upon reaching the unincorporated village of Lahaska, the two routes split, with PA 263 bearing off to the left and becoming Upper York Road, a two-lane undivided road. The route passes through Peddler's Village before coming to an intersection with Street Road.[4][5] At Street Road, PA 263 exits Buckingham Township and enters Solebury Township.[5]
The road continues north into farm fields and woods with a few homes, curving more to the northeast and coming to a junction with Greenhill Road.
History
What is now PA 263 was originally built as part of the Old York Road, a road established in the 18th century to connect Philadelphia to New York City. The portion of the road encompassing all of PA 263 was planned in 1711 to run from Philadelphia to Centre Bridge. The Old York Road would later exist as a turnpike.[6] In 1911, the part of PA 263 between the southern terminus and Lahaska was designated as part of Legislative Route 155, a route that ran from Willow Grove north to New Hope.[7]
In 1928, PA 263 was designated to run from
In 2006, the section of PA 263 through Hatboro was named the Roy W. Cornell Memorial Highway in honor of Roy Cornell, a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives who had represented Hatboro for 25 years.[11] In 2014, a portion of PA 263 in Warminster Township was dedicated the Officer Bradley M. Fox Memorial Highway after a Plymouth Township police officer originally from Warminster who was killed in the line of duty during 2012.[12]
In March 2014, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation began a $31.6 million improvement project along the section of PA 263 between Bristol Road and Sugar Bottom Road in Warwick Township. The project rebuilt the concrete road and improved several intersections along this stretch, along with rehabilitating bridges and installing new signs, signals, pavement markings, and guardrails. Work on the improvement project was completed in October 2017.[13][14]
Major intersections
County | Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Montgomery | Upper Moreland Township | 0.000 | 0.000 | PA 611 (Easton Road) | Southern terminus; no access from southbound PA 611 to northbound PA 263 |
Hatboro | 2.513 | 4.044 | PA 332 east (East Montgomery Avenue) | Western terminus of PA 332 | |
Bucks | Warminster Township | 4.435 | 7.137 | PA 132 (Street Road) | |
Doylestown–Buckingham township line | 11.101 | 17.865 | PA 313 west (Swamp Road) – Doylestown | Eastern terminus of PA 313 | |
Buckingham Township | 13.080 | 21.050 | PA 413 (Durham Road) to US 202 south – Mechanicsville, Newtown | ||
13.300 | 21.404 | US 202 south (Doylestown Buckingham Pike) – Doylestown | Southern terminus of US 202 concurrency; no access from northbound PA 263 to southbound US 202 | ||
15.066 | 24.246 | US 202 north (Lower York Road) – New Hope | Northern terminus of US 202 concurrency | ||
Solebury Township | 20.086 | 32.325 | PA 32 (River Road) – Lumberville, New Hope | Signed northern terminus | |
Delaware River | 20.139 | 32.411 | Centre Bridge–Stockton Bridge | ||
Bridge Street to Route 29 – Stockton | New Jersey state line; official northern terminus | ||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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See also
- U.S. Roads portal
- Pennsylvania portal
References
- ^ a b Bureau of Maintenance and Operations (January 2015). Roadway Management System Straight Line Diagrams (Report) (2015 ed.). Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
- Montgomery County (PDF)
- Bucks County (PDF)
- ^ a b Map of Pennsylvania (Map). Pennsylvania Department of Highways. 1928. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
- ^ ISBN 0-87530-775-2.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Google (June 29, 2010). "overview of Pennsylvania Route 263" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
- ^ ISBN 0-87530-774-4.
- ^ Hotchkin, S.F. (1892). The York Road, old and new. Binder & Kelly. p. 215. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
old york road.
- Pennsylvania Department of Highways. 1911. Retrieved June 24, 2010.
- ^ Official Road Map of Pennsylvania (PDF) (Map). Pennsylvania Department of Highways. 1940. Retrieved June 24, 2010.
- ^ Official Map of Pennsylvania (PDF) (Map). Pennsylvania Department of Highways. 1970. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
- ^ Bucks County Pennsylvania (PDF) (Map). Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. 1971. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
- ^ SENATE BILL No. 1206, Pennsylvania General Assembly, 2006, retrieved August 3, 2010
- ^ Buckman, Amy (September 14, 2014). "Warminster highway renamed for slain Officer Brad Fox". Philadelphia: WPVI-TV. Retrieved September 15, 2014.
- ^ Shoemaker DeBree, Crissa (March 11, 2014). "Route 263 construction to begin Monday". The Intelligencer. Doylestown, PA. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
- ^ "Route 263 (York Road) Traffic Pattern Switch Scheduled Thursday in Warminster and Warwick Townships" (Press release). Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. September 14, 2016. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
External links