 Pennsylvania Route 263 | ||||
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 Map of southeastern Pennsylvania with PA 263 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byPennDOT | ||||
| Length | 20.139 mi[1] (32.411 km) | |||
| Existed | 1928[2]–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  PA 611 inWillow Grove | |||
| Major intersections |
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| North end |  Route 29 at theNew Jersey state line | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Pennsylvania | |||
| Counties | Montgomery,Bucks | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Pennsylvania Route 263 (PA 263) is a north–southstate highway located in southeastPennsylvania. The southern terminus of the route is atPA 611 inWillow Grove,Montgomery County. The northern terminus is at theCentre Bridge–Stockton Bridge over theDelaware River inCentre Bridge,Bucks County, where the road continues intoStockton, New Jersey, as Bridge Street to an intersection withRoute 29. PA 263 follows the routing ofOld York Road, a historic road that connectedPhiladelphia toNew York City, and carries the name York Road from the southern terminus toLahaska and Upper York Road north of there. From Willow Grove toBuckingham, PA 263 runs mostly through suburban areas as a four-lane road, passing throughHatboro,Warminster, andJamison. The route forms aconcurrency withU.S. Route 202 (US 202) in Buckingham and narrows to a two-lane road, splitting with that route in Lahaska. From there, 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.
PA 263 starts as North York Road at its southern terminus atPA 611 (Easton Road) in the unincorporated community ofWillow Grove inUpper Moreland Township,Montgomery County.[3] At the southern terminus, the route is split into aone-way pair, with the route carrying one lane northbound and two lanes southbound. The northbound lanes split north from northbound PA 611 while the southbound lanes head west and meet PA 611 at the Center Avenue intersection. There is no access from southbound PA 611 to PA 263. At the end of the one-way pair, the route becomes a three-lane road with one northbound lane and two southbound lanes and briefly gains acenter left-turn lane past the Summit Avenue intersection. PA 263 continues north as a four-lane undivided road, passing through commercial areas with a few homes. The road has a junction with Fitzwatertown Road/Terwood Road before it passes underNorfolk Southern'sMorrisville Line and turns into adivided highway called South York Road as it crosses under thePennsylvania Turnpike (Interstate 276). Upon intersecting Mill Road/Warminster Road, PA 263 becomes undivided again as it heads into more residential surroundings.[3][4]
_from_the_overpass_for_the_rail_line_just_south_of_Sunset_Lane_in_Upper_Moreland_Township%2c_Montgomery_County%2c_Pennsylvania.jpg)
The route briefly forms the border between the borough ofHatboro 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 thePennypack 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 ofPA 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]
At the intersection with County Line Road, PA 263 briefly becomes a four-lane divided highway and entersWarminster Township inBucks 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 thePA 132 (Street Road) junction, where it becomes a four-lane divided highway that heads to the west ofArchbishop 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 ofHartsville, PA 263 entersWarwick 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 andLittle 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 ofJamison.[4][5] After Almshouse Road, PA 263 continues north through business areas before heading past residential development, passing to the east of theMiddle Bucks Institute of Technology.[4] The route turns back into a divided highway as it crosses over theNeshaminy Creek in the community ofBridge Valley and regains a center left-turn lane as it passes through areas of woodland and homes.[4][5] The road leaves Warwick Township forBuckingham Township at the Sugar Bottom Road intersection.[5]
In Buckingham Township, PA 263 becomes a four-lane undivided road and passes a mix of farmland and homes, with a stretch of divided highway around the intersection with Heritage Center Drive, as it comes to the community ofFurlong. Here, the road intersects Edison Furlong Road/Forest Grove Road and forms the border betweenDoylestown Township to the west and Buckingham Township to the east. At the intersection with the eastern terminus ofPA 313 (Swamp Road), the route fully enters Buckingham Township again and intersects Furlong Road, turning northeast past a mix of farms and woods with some residences. The road briefly becomes a divided highway as it crossesWatson Creek. Farther to the northeast, the route reaches the community ofBuckingham and crossesPA 413 (Durham Road).[4][5]
PA 263 narrows to two lanes past this intersection and comes to a junction withUS 202 a short distance later, where it forms aconcurrency 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 ofHolicong and crossingLahaska Creek.[4][5] Upon reaching the unincorporated village ofLahaska, 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 throughPeddler's Village before coming to an intersection with Street Road.[4][5] At Street Road, PA 263 exits Buckingham Township and entersSolebury 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.[4] At the Aquetong Road intersection, PA 263 turns north and back to the northeast. The route reaches the community ofSolebury, where it intersects Sugan Road/Phillips Mill Road.[4][5] Past this area, the road continues through wooded areas of homes, with the forests becoming denser as the road heads more to the northeast.[4] In the village ofCentre Bridge, PA 263 signage ends atPA 32 (River Road). The route officially continues to theCentre Bridge–Stockton Bridge over theDelaware Canal and theDelaware River, at which point it ends at theNew Jersey state line. The road continues into the borough ofStockton, New Jersey, as Bridge Street, which heads to an intersection withRoute 29 near the southern terminus ofCounty Route 523.[5]
PA 263 was originally built as part of theOld York Road, a road established in the 18th century to connectPhiladelphia toNew 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 aturnpike.[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 fromUS 611 (now PA 611) in Willow Grove north to the Delaware River in Centre Bridge.[2] The Upper York Road portion of PA 263 was paved by 1940.[8] By 1970, work was underway on widening PA 263 to a four-lane highway between County Line Road and PA 413 in Buckingham.[9] The widening was complete by 1971. As part of this widening, PA 263 was realigned in two places. The route was shifted to a new alignment bypassing the center of Hartsville to the east and heading across Little Neshaminy Creek, with the former alignment now Old York Road, and was shifted west to a new alignment crossing the Neshaminy Creek, bypassing the now-closedBridge Valley Bridge.[10]
In 2006, the section of PA 263 through Hatboro was named the Roy W. Cornell Memorial Highway in honor ofRoy Cornell, a member of thePennsylvania 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 aPlymouth Township police officer originally from Warminster who was killed in the line of duty during 2012.[12]
In March 2014, thePennsylvania 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]
| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montgomery | Upper Moreland Township | 0.000 | 0.000 | PA 611 (Easton Road) | Southern terminus |
| 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) toUS 202 south –Mechanicsville,Newtown | ||
| 13.300 | 21.404 | US 202 south (Doylestown Buckingham Pike) –Doylestown | No northbound exit; southern end of US 202 concurrency | ||
| 15.066 | 24.246 |  US 202 north (Lower York Road) –New Hope | Northern end of US 202 concurrency | ||
| Solebury Township | 20.086 | 32.325 |  PA 32 (River Road) –Lumberville,New Hope | ||
| Delaware River | 20.139 | 32.411 | Centre Bridge–Stockton Bridge | ||
| Route 29 –Stockton | Northern terminus;New Jersey state line; access via Bridge Street | ||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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old york road.
