Get ready to hit the brakes, Chester County commuters. PennDOT has the nerve to test your patience again as it embarks on utility construction that will snarl traffic on U.S. 1, starting next week. Brace yourself for three long months of potential gridlock. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the construction, part of a $10.4 million road-widening project on U.S. 1 from Kennett Oxford Bypass to Greenwood Road, is slated to cause significant traffic disruptions.

Starting Tuesday, May 28, through the dog days of summer to Wednesday, August 28, northbound and southbound drivers can expect to crawl through single-lane closures from 9 AM to 3 PM. And in what feels like a never-ending saga of construction, PennDOT is advising motorists to allow for extra travel time through the affected stretch from Greenwood Road to just south of Schoolhouse Road, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation announced. Prepare for backups and delays—the usual drill for weary wheelmen and women.

But it's not just a belt-tightening exercise of patience. The construction promises smoother roads ahead with mill and overlay procedures, a third travel lane in certain sections, and new sidewalks from Schoolhouse Road to Longwood Village Shopping Center. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation aims to enhance travel efficiency—eventually. Keeping in tradition, left turns from Orchard Avenue onto U.S. 1 are being chopped off like yesterday's news.

PennDOT's contractor, Allan Myers, LP, is saddled with the grunt work of bringing these road improvements to fruition. The project bucks the national trend, financed entirely with federal funds—an unusual boon in times when budgets are spread thin as a dime. Two new dynamic message signs, along with upgrades to five signalized intersections, are also on the docket for the corridor, making it clear that while the short-term pain is undeniable, the long-term gains could justify the chokehold on daily commutes.