Pennsylvania Route 52

PA Route 52
Route information
Maintained by PennDOT
Length:	12 mi[1] (19 km)
Existed:	1928 – present
Major junctions
South end:	DE 52 near Kennett Square
North end:	US 322 BUS in West Chester
Location
Counties:	Chester
Highway system
Roads in Pennsylvania Interstate • US • State • Legislative ← PA 51 PA 53 →

Pennsylvania Route 52 is a 12-mile (19 km) long state highway located in southeast Pennsylvania. The southern terminus of the route is at the Pennsylvania-Delaware state line near Kennett Square, where PA 52 continues as Delaware Route 52. The northern terminus is at U.S. Route 322 Business in West Chester. Near the Kennett Township community of Longwood, it has about a 1-mile (1.6 km) wrong-way concurrency with U.S. 1 before it turns southeast on its way to becoming DE 52.

Route description

PA 52 begins at the Delaware border in Pennsbury Township, Chester County, at which point the road continues south into Delaware as DE 52. From the state line, the road heads north-northwest on two-lane undivided Kennett Pike through wooded residential areas. The road crosses into Kennett Township and heads northwest to the community of Mendenhall, where it crosses an East Penn Railroad line. Farther northwest, PA 52 comes to an intersection with US 1 (Baltimore Pike) and turns west to form a concurrency with that route, which is a four-lane divided highway that passes fields. Near Longwood Gardens, PA 52 splits from US 1 by heading north on Lenape Road. The road enters East Marlborough Township as it passes through a mix of woods and fields, intersecting PA 926.^[2][3]

Past this intersection, the road passes through forested residential areas, crossing into Pocopson Township as it winds more to the northeast. In the community of Lenape, PA 52 crosses another East Penn Railroad line prior to crossing the Brandywine Creek into Birmingham Township. Here, the road turns northwest onto Creek Road (the old alignment of PA 100) prior to continuing northeast along Lenape Road into East Bradford Township. The route passes through areas of woods, fields, and housing developments prior to intersecting West Rosedale Avenue. At this point, PA 52 heads northwest on Bradford Avenue, forming the border between East Bradford Township to the west and West Chester to the east, passing homes. The route makes a turn northeast onto Price Street, fully entering West Chester, where it continues through residential areas. The route comes to its northern terminus at US 322 Business (South High Street) a short distance north of the West Chester University campus. At this intersection, the old alignment of PA 100 turned left onto High Street.^[2][3]

Future

In August 2010, construction will begin to relocate PA 52 onto a new alignment between US 1 and PA 926 in order to improve traffic flow. This project is expected to be completed in 2012 and will cost $15.4 million. Once the new alignment is completed, the current PA 52 south of Webb Barn Lane will become an access road to Longwood Gardens while the rest of the road will be torn up.^[4] This will shorten but not eliminate the wrong-way currency of US 1 and PA 52.

Major intersections

The entire route is in Chester County.

Location	Mile	Destinations	Notes
Pennsbury Township	0.0	DE 52 (Kennett Pike)	Continuation into Delaware
Kennett Township		US 1 north (Baltimore Pike)	Southern terminus of concurrency
		US 1 south (Baltimore Pike)	Northern terminus of concurrency
East Marlborough Township-Pennsbury Township		PA 926 (Street Road)
Birmingham Township		Creek Road	Formerly part of PA 100
West Chester		US 322 Bus. (South High Street)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

1. ^ Pennsylvania Highways - Pennsylvania Route 52
2. ^ ^{a b} Google, Inc. Google Maps – overview of Pennsylvania Route 52 (Map). Cartography by Google, Inc. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=DE+52+and+PA+52&daddr=high+street+and+PA+52&hl=en&geocode=FR7KXwIdVwZ--ynfbx78W_nGiTEMlz0RL-aTCQ%3BFV2tYQIdam5--ymb2k1iQPHGiTFPOPsApvilVw&mra=ls&sll=39.847325,-75.487125&sspn=0.030049,0.084543&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=11. Retrieved 2010-11-27. 
3. ^ ^{a b} PennDOT (2010). Chester County, Pennsylvania Highway Map (Map). ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/pdf/BPR_pdf_files/Maps/GHS/Roadnames/chester_GHSN.PDF. Retrieved 2010-11-27. 
4. ^ Maye, Fran (August 6, 2010). "Work set to begin on Route 52 relocation". Daily Local News. http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2010/07/06/news/srv0000008731964.txt. Retrieved August 11, 2010.