Which Bensalem application covers which part
Split the job into pieces, because each one has its own paperwork on the township's Applications, Inspections and Requirements page:
- The driveway itself (inside your lot): the 2024 fee schedule lists driveway enlargement and reconstruction at a $50 residential application fee plus the alteration of land permit, which is $250 for a residential driveway.
- The sidewalk, curb and apron at the street: use the Curbs-Sidewalks-Aprons application, with the fee collected when you submit. The schedule charges $2 per linear foot for broken sidewalk or apron sections (counted on the whole blocks removed) and $2 per linear foot for curb.
- Digging into the street or road shoulder: that's a separate Street Opening application, with its own Road Restoration Requirements and an engineer-set inspection escrow.
- Widening the driveway: the township also posts a Maximum Impervious Surface Worksheet. Ask whether you need to fill it out, since a wider driveway adds paved area to the lot.
On escrow, the schedule says new sidewalk and apron installation carries a $25-per-foot escrow but that no escrow is required for repair and replacement work on sidewalks and aprons. Another line says all curb, sidewalk and apron work is subject to an inspection escrow set by the township engineer. Ask the office which one applies to your job and get the answer in writing.
Bensalem handles the paperwork in person or by mail at 2400 Byberry Road; there's a drop box at the south side entrance, and the office is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. The township already has its own building and alteration of land process for other projects, which we covered in our Bensalem deck and fence permit guide.
Check whether your road is a state road
Bensalem's Public Works page says the township is not allowed to do any work on state-owned roads and lists the ones PennDOT owns, including Street Road, Hulmeville Road, Bristol Pike (Route 13), Route 1, Mill Road, New Falls Road, Station Avenue, Galloway Road, Trevose Road and Old Lincoln Highway. A few, like Knights Road, Bensalem Boulevard and Cornwells Avenue, are PennDOT only for certain stretches, so check the page's footnotes against your address. Public Works is at 215-633-3980; the township directs state-road questions to PennDOT at 215-345-6060.
If you're on a township street, the township applications above are the whole story. If you're on a state road, read on. Our guide to who maintains the road beside a Bucks County driveway apron covers how to confirm that for a specific stretch.
What PennDOT wants on a state road
PennDOT's highway occupancy permit page says that in many cases paving an existing driveway along a state route counts as maintenance only, needing just proper traffic control, but it tells owners to contact PennDOT to confirm that for their project. New or altered sidewalk and curb is different. PennDOT's sidewalk and curb fact sheet says installing or altering either one in its right-of-way needs a highway occupancy permit, and that maintenance may not, depending on the district office.
For that permit, the fact sheet asks for detailed plans with dimensions, proof of ownership such as a deed copy, and a letter from the municipality showing it reviewed the plans, all filed through PennDOT's online ePermitting system at least 30 days before work starts. A property owner pays a $40 fee when the permit is issued, and PennDOT says it typically reviews within 30 days. The right-of-way usually extends past the pavement and shoulder; PennDOT notes utility poles typically sit near its edge.
New sidewalk also has to meet PennDOT's accessibility basics: Class A concrete, a desirable width of 5 feet (4 feet with a 5-foot passing area every 200 feet), no more than a quarter-inch height difference along the path, and a cross slope of 2% or less. Ask your contractor how they'll meet those.
Questions to settle before you sign
- Is this job surface maintenance or reconstruction, and has the township agreed with that classification?
- Who files the township applications and, on a state road, the PennDOT permit and the municipal review letter?
- Which inspections are needed before concrete or asphalt goes down, and who schedules them?
- Has 811 been called? Bensalem's application page reminds residents to call before digging; our guide to digging safely in Pennsylvania explains the steps.
Put the answers in the written contract. Permit rules differ from one township to the next, as our look at Bucks County permit differences shows, so don't assume what a contractor did in Lower Southampton or Bristol applies in Bensalem. The fee schedule we used is dated March 1, 2024, so confirm current fees when you apply.