Map of Fairfield County in southwestern Connecticut with Route 53 highlighted in red | ||||
Route information | ||||
Maintained by CTDOT | ||||
Length | 23.57 mi [1] (37.93 km) | |||
Existed | 1932–present | |||
Major junctions | ||||
South end | ![]() | |||
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North end | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | |||
Location | ||||
Country | United States | |||
State | Connecticut | |||
Counties | Fairfield | |||
Highway system | ||||
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Route 53 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Connecticut, connecting the cities of Norwalk and Danbury. Most of the route has been made redundant by U.S. Route 7, except for the last section from Bethel to Danbury, which is part of a direct route (Route 58) from the Bridgeport area to Danbury.
Route 53 begins at US 1 in Norwalk and travels through the towns of Norwalk, Wilton, Weston, Redding, and Bethel. Route 53 ends in Downtown Danbury at a quadruple junction with Routes 37, 39, and a secondary state road leading to Interstate 84.
A 2.03-mile (3.27 km) section in Redding, running from the Weston town line to the beginning of a brief concurrency with Route 107, is a designated state scenic road. [2]
The main road connecting the city of Norwalk to the borough of Newtown was organized as a private turnpike in May 1829. Known as the Norwalk and Newtown Turnpike, or more commonly as just the Newtown Turnpike, the road mostly used modern Route 53 from Norwalk to the Saugatuck Reservoir in Redding. Northeast of the reservoir, the old Newtown Turnpike continued the straight route using what are now town roads (Newtown Turnpike, Hopewell Woods Road, Poverty Hollow Road, and Key Rock Road) to Route 302 in the Dodgingtown section of Newtown, then Route 302 into Newtown borough. The portion of modern Route 53 between the West Redding section of Redding and Bethel center was the northern half of the Norwalk and Danbury Turnpike. This turnpike was chartered in 1795 and used part of modern US 7, modern Route 107, and Umpawaug Road to West Redding, then continued on modern Route 53. Between Redding Center and West Redding, modern Route 53 was the northern half of the Northfield Turnpike, which was chartered in 1826. The southern half is now Valley Forge Road and Lyons Plains Road.
In 1922, part of the Norwalk and Danbury Turnpike between West Redding and Bethel was given the designation State Highway 180 while part of the Newtown Turnpike between Redding Ridge and Newtown was assigned as State Highway 158. Route 53 was first defined in the 1932 state highway renumbering between Weston center to Georgetown along Georgetown Road (modern Route 57), then along Redding Road (Routes 107 and 53) to West Redding, then along former Highway 180 to Bethel. In 1954, the southern end was relocated and now ended at US 7 in Wilton. Route 57 took over the former Georgetown Road segment and the Newtown Turnpike became unsigned SR 725. In 1963, the southern part was relocated onto the Newtown Turnpike (former SR 725) to Weston Center, then shifted to the alignment of former Route 103 (Chestnut Hill Road/East Avenue) via Cedar Road/Norfield Road (former SR 741). [3] In 1973, Route 53 took over former US 202 to Downtown Danbury when US 202 was relocated to a new alignment. [4]
The entire route is in Fairfield County.
Location | mi [1] | km | Destinations | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Norwalk | 0.00 | 0.00 | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Southern terminus; access to I-95 via East Avenue | |
Wilton | 3.91 | 6.29 | ![]() | ||
5.18 | 8.34 | ![]() ![]() | Eastern terminus of Route 106 | ||
Weston | 6.47 | 10.41 | ![]() ![]() | Southern terminus of Route 57 concurrency | |
7.29 | 11.73 | ![]() ![]() | Northern terminus of Route 57 concurrency | ||
Redding | 13.74 | 22.11 | ![]() ![]() | Southern terminus of Route 107 concurrency | |
13.85 | 22.29 | ![]() ![]() | Northern terminus of Route 107 concurrency | ||
Bethel | 20.29 | 32.65 | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Western terminus of Route 302 | |
Danbury | 23.57 | 37.93 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | Northern terminus; southern termini of Routes 37 and 39 | |
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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Fairfield County is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is the most populous county in the state and was also its fastest-growing from 2010 to 2020. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 957,419, representing 26.6% of Connecticut's overall population. The closest to the center of the New York metropolitan area, the county contains four of the state's top 7 largest cities—Bridgeport (1st), Stamford (2nd), Norwalk (6th), and Danbury (7th)—whose combined population of 433,368 is nearly half the county's total population.
Route 34 is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Route 34 is 24.37 miles (39.22 km) long, and extends from Washington Avenue near I-84/US 6 in Newtown to the junction of I-91 and I-95 in New Haven. The highways connects the New Haven and Danbury areas via the Lower Naugatuck River Valley. The portion of the route between New Haven and Derby was an early toll road known as the Derby Turnpike.
The Saugatuck River is a 23.7-mile-long (38.1 km) river in southwestern Connecticut in the United States. It drains part of suburban and rural Fairfield County west of Bridgeport, emptying into Long Island Sound.
U.S. Route 7 (US 7) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway in western New England that runs for 308 miles (496 km) through the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. The highway's southern terminus is at Interstate 95 (I-95) exit 15 in Norwalk, Connecticut. Its northern terminus is at I-89 exit 22 near the village of Highgate Springs, Vermont, immediately south of the Canada–United States border.
Route 15 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Connecticut that runs 83.53 miles (134.43 km) from a connection with New York's Hutchinson River Parkway in Greenwich, Connecticut, to its northern terminus intersecting with Interstate 84 (I-84) in East Hartford, Connecticut. Route 15 consists of four distinct sections: the Merritt Parkway, the Wilbur Cross Parkway, most of the Berlin Turnpike, and part of the Wilbur Cross Highway. The unified designation was applied to these separate highways in 1948 to provide a continuous through route from New York to Massachusetts. The parkway section of Route 15 is often referred to locally as "The Merritt".
Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running in a general east–west compass direction for 111.57 miles (179.55 km) in Connecticut, from the New York state line to the Rhode Island state line. I-95 from Greenwich to East Lyme is part of the Connecticut Turnpike, during which it passes through the major cities of Stamford, Bridgeport, and New Haven. After leaving the turnpike in East Lyme, I-95 is known as the Jewish War Veterans Memorial Highway and passes through New London, Groton, and Mystic, before exiting the state through North Stonington at the Rhode Island border.
Route 25 is a 28.59-mile (46.01 km), primary state highway connecting the city of Bridgeport and the town of Brookfield in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Route 25 is a six-lane freeway from Bridgeport to northern Trumbull and a two-lane surface road the rest of the way to Brookfield.
Route 58 is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Connecticut connecting the towns of Fairfield and Bethel. Route 58 is 18.58 miles (29.90 km) long and is one of the primary routes to the downtown Danbury area via Routes 302 and 53.
Route 35 is a state highway in Connecticut, located entirely within the town of Ridgefield, Fairfield County. Route 35 starts at the New York state line, where the road continues as New York State Route 35, and ends at U.S. Route 7. The road is often used as an alternative to the congested Route 7. Originally part of New England Route 3 in the 1920s, Route 35 was designated in 1932.
Route 57 is a secondary state highway in western Connecticut serving as the "Main Street" of and connecting the towns of Westport and Weston. The road continues north through Redding to end at US 7 just after crossing into Wilton, in the neighborhood of Georgetown.
The Norwalk Transit District (NTD) is the primary provider of public transportation services in Norwalk, Connecticut, United States, and surrounding communities. The local Norwalk fixed-route bus transit system, is the primary service of the district linking Norwalk and its immediate suburbs. The agency also operates regional bus services as far north as Danbury and as far east as Bridgeport and commuter shuttles to Metro-North stations. Paratransit door-to-door services are available for residents in the service area unable to use regular transit services. Norwalk Transit contracts with local transportation service providers to perform some of the door-to-door services, and is also the provider of public transit for the Westport Transit District.
Route 59 is a north–south state highway in Connecticut, running from Bridgeport to Monroe. Between Bridgeport and Easton, Route 59 used to be the Stratfield and Weston Turnpike, which operated from 1797 to 1886. Modern Route 59 was designated along the turnpike route in 1932 with a northward extension to the Upper Stepney section of Monroe.
Route 106 is a state highway in southwestern Connecticut, running from Stamford to Wilton.
Route 107 is a state highway in southwestern Connecticut, connecting the village of Georgetown to the town center of Redding.
Route 111 is a state highway in southwestern Connecticut, United States, running from the Merritt Parkway (Route 15) in Trumbull to Route 34 in Monroe. The junction with the Merritt Parkway is currently the only single-point urban interchange (SPUI) in the entire state.
Route 136 is a state highway in southwestern Connecticut, running from Darien to Easton. The route was initially established in 1932 to serve the beach communities between Darien and Southport. Its eastern end was relocated in 1963 to head northeast from Westport to Easton instead.
Route 302 is a state highway in western Connecticut running from Bethel to Newtown.
U.S. Route 7 (US 7) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway which runs 78 miles (126 km) in the state of Connecticut. The route begins at Interstate 95 (I-95) in Norwalk starting out as a four-lane freeway until the Wilton town line. The route then proceeds north as a two-lane surface road through Redding and Ridgefield, where it becomes a four-lane surface road until it reaches Danbury. The route becomes a four-lane freeway again, eventually merging with I-84 for a brief period before it turns and proceeds north with US 202 in Brookfield. The freeway section terminates at an intersection with US 202 at the Fairfield–Litchfield county line next to Candlewood lake. The route then continues north as a four-lane arterial road to New Milford, where it becomes a two-lane surface road, running north to the Massachusetts border in North Canaan. US 7 was aligned to its current route around 1930, and, since then, three sections totaling around 12 miles (19 km) have been upgraded to freeway standards.
Long Hill is a neighborhood and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Trumbull in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is located west of the Pequonnock River. The main thoroughfare is Connecticut Route 111, present-day Main Street. It was listed as a census-designated place prior to the 2020 census.
Media related to Connecticut Route 53 at Wikimedia Commons