The Merritt Parkway (also known locally as "The Merritt") is a controlled-accessparkway in Fairfield County, Connecticut, with a small section at the northern end in New Haven County. Designed for Connecticut's Gold Coast, the parkway is known for its scenic layout, its uniquely styled signage, and the architecturally elaborate overpasses along the route. As one of the first, oldest parkways in the United States, it is designated as a National Scenic Byway and is also listed in the National Register of Historic Places.[4][5] Signed as part of Route 15, it runs from the New York state line in Greenwich, where it serves to continue the Hutchinson River Parkway, to Exit 54 in Milford, where the Wilbur Cross Parkway begins. Facing bitter opposition, the project took six years to build in three different sections, with the Connecticut Department of Transportation constantly requiring additional funding due to the area's high property value. The parkway was named for U.S. Congressman Schuyler Merritt. In 2010, the National Trust for Historic Preservation called the Merritt Parkway one of "America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places".[6]
Trucks, buses, trailers, towed vehicles, and all vehicles 8 feet (2.4m) tall or taller are not allowed on any part of the parkway due to its low bridges, narrow lanes, and tight curve radii.
The roadway sign of the Merritt features a blue shield with white lettering, along with the foliage of Kalmia latifolia, commonly known as the mountain laurel, the state flower of Connecticut.
The Merritt is one of a handful of United States highways listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It is acknowledged for the beauty of the forest through which it passes, as well as the architectural design of its overpasses; at the time of its construction, each bridge was decorated in a unique fashion so that no two bridges on the parkway looked alike.[7] Newer overpasses used at exit 39 (US 7), though, did not maintain this tradition, and as a result, exit 39 on the parkway is now spanned by several ordinary modern bridges constructed using undecorated concrete-on-steelI-beams.[8]
The parkway has two lanes in each direction. Due to its age, it was originally constructed without the merge lanes, long on-ramps, and long off-ramps that are found on modern freeways. Some entrances have perilously short and/or sharp ramps; some entrances even have stop signs, with no merge lane whatsoever; this leads to some dangerous entrances onto the highway. Most have since been modernized, with the interchange of Route 111 in Trumbull featuring Connecticut's first single-point urban interchange (SPUI). The stretch of road between exit 42 in Westport and exit 44 in Fairfield is a very long stretch, roughly 5+1⁄2 miles (8.9km) long without a single exit, referred to by local traffic reports as the "No Exit Zone"[9] or "No Man's Land".[10] An exit 43 was planned in the middle of this stretch, but was never built because it would have connected to a northerly extension of the Sherwood Island Connector, which itself was never built to that point.[11]
Vehicles 8 feet (2.4m) tall or taller in height, weighing 8,000 pounds (3,600kg) or more, towing a trailer, or having more than four wheels are not allowed on the parkway. Under extenuating circumstances, however, ConnDOT may issue permits for oversized vehicles to use the parkway.[12][2]
History
An entrance sign to the Merrit Parkway with the white-on-green and sawtooth border
The Merritt Parkway is one of the oldest scenic parkways in the United States.[13] The portion from Greenwich to Norwalk was opened on June 29, 1938.[14] The section from Norwalk to Trumbull was completed in November 1939, and in 1940, it was finished to the Housatonic River in Stratford. The parkway was named for U.S. Congressman Schuyler Merritt, who was instrumental in enacting legislation allowing the parkway to be built. The Merritt Parkway is the first leg of what later became modern Route 15. Built between 1934 and 1940, the Merritt Parkway runs for 37 miles (60km) from the New York state line in Greenwich to the Housatonic River in Stratford. It was conceived as a way to alleviate congestion on the Boston Post Road (U.S. Route 1) in Fairfield County.[15] After the parkway fully opened in 1940, travelers commonly stopped to picnic along the side of the road.[16] The Merritt Parkway Advisory Commission (later the Merritt Parkway Advisory Committee) decided to ban horses and buggies, bicycles, pedestrians, billboards, and U-turns, while a system of horse trails along the parkway was developed, but later abandoned.[17] To ease objections from county residents, who feared an influx of New Yorkers on their roads, in their towns, on their beaches, and through their forests, highway planners called on engineers, landscape architects, and architects to create a safe and aesthetically pleasing limited-access highway, one with exit and entrance ramps, but no intersections, that would not spoil the countryside.[18][19] The bridges played a prominent role in the design. Architect George L. Dunkelberger designed them all. They reflected the popularity of the Art Deco style, with touches of neoclassical and modern design.[20][21][22] Some of these bridges were constructed by the Works Progress Administration.
In 1948, the road was signed as part of Connecticut Route 15. Originally, the road had the unsigned designation of Connecticut Route 1A. Also around this time, exit numbers were posted on the road. In December 1949, a connection to the Wilber Cross Parkway was opened to traffic.[23]
In 1955, exit 30, an at-grade intersection with Butternut hollow road that crossed traffic in both directions, was permanently closed after being declared a safety hazard.[24] In addition, exit 29 was later rebuilt into grade separated interchange, it was originally a at-grade one (albeit no median crossing ever existed).
Tree canopy over the Merritt Parkway, and grassy median
In 1957, trees inside the median were cut down for the first time. This followed years of accidents caused by tree related crashes.[25]
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the segment of roadway between Stamford and Greenwich was resurfaced and hade its more windy segments reconstructed to be straighter.[25] Followed up on this was a project to demolish the Huntington Turnpike overpass as well as the original Route 8 overpass. Demolition was completed in 1979.[21] In 1983, new interchanges with Routes 8 and Connecticut Route 25 were constructed.[23]
Toll booth in 1955
Tolls were collected on the parkway at one toll plaza in Greenwich from June 21, 1939, until June 27, 1988. Two additional tolls were also located on the Wilbur Cross Parkway, in Milford and Wallingford. One of the parkway's former toll plazas is now preserved in Stratford'sBoothe Memorial Park near Exit 53, complete with still-flashing lights over each toll lane.
In 1992, a new interchange with US 7 was opened, this involved rebuilding of another portion of roadway.[21]
In 1999, a project to reconstruct exit 44 and eliminate exit 45 was completed at the cost of 4.6 million. In addition exit 53 was reconstructed into a standard diamond interchange, it was originally a seven ramp configuration.[23]
In April 2001, a complete reissuance of the parkway's signs was carried out, instituting a uniform white-on-green color scheme, and a sawtooth border.[26][27][28]
In 2004, a project to rebuild exit 48 from a standard diamond interchange into a Single-point urban interchange (SPUI) was completed. Also as part of this project, a new overpass was built to replace the old one (it was not wide enough for a SPUI), though this new overpass replicated the aesthetics of the old one.[23]
Service plazas
Six rest areas/service plazas, featuring parking lots, gas stations, and convenience stores, were also built along the Merritt Parkway so that drivers would not have to exit to refuel. Pairs of plazas are located opposite each other on either side of the parkway in Fairfield (near exit 46), New Canaan (near exit 37), and Greenwich (just beyond the CT-NY state line). The northbound-side plaza in Greenwich also houses a Connecticut welcome center. The plazas were originally constructed during the parkway's days as a tolled highway, but remained even after the tolls were removed in 1988, making the parkway one of only a few toll-free highways with service plazas along its length. Between 2011 and 2015, all six of the service plazas (along with the four located further north along the Wilbur Cross Parkway) were completely renovated. The renovations preserved the original brick-and-stone façade of the buildings, but completely redesigned and modernized the interiors. The plazas now include more modern gas pumps, Alltown convenience stores, and a Dunkin' Donuts shop at each location; three of the Merritt's six plazas also include a Subway shop. Prior to the renovations, no fast-food service had previously been available at the plazas. The renovation project was completed during the summer of 2015, when the New Canaan plazas were reopened.[citation needed]
In 2013, electric-vehicle (EV) charging stations for Tesla automobiles were added to both the northbound and southbound Greenwich service plazas, with four Superchargers installed in each direction. In addition, charging for CHAdeMO-equipped EVs was added to the northbound Greenwich service plaza. The parking/charging stalls are some of the first in the U.S. to be designated "shared use" - EVs may use the stall for up to 45 minutes to charge, or internal-combustion engine vehicles may park for up to 15 minutes.[29]
Safety
Welcome sign on the northbound side in Greenwich near exit 27 on the NY-CT state border.
One of the Merritt's aesthetic features is also a potential danger to its drivers. Trees that line either side of the parkway, and often in the center median, grow branches that cover the roadway, and occasionally fall during severe weather, or with natural aging. Stretches of the parkway also lack guardrails on the right shoulders, creating a risk of tree-impact accidents if cars veer off the pavement.
In 2007, after complaints were voiced about the danger of the trees along the parkway, state officials announced they would trim and eliminate some of them more aggressively. A large, seemingly healthy tree fell on a car near exit 42 in Westport in June 2007, killing a couple from Pelham, New York. On June 23, 2011, a driver was killed in Stamford when a tree fell onto his car.[30]
A state study of fatalities on Connecticut highways showed that from 1985 to 1992, about 10 people died every three years in tree-related accidents, although no other state roadway averaged more than one in three years.
The state Department of Transportation commonly sends out work crews twice a year to drive along both sides of the parkway at 5 miles per hour (8.0km/h) in search of decrepit trees. Trees that had been scheduled to be cut down in five to 10 years would be removed sooner. Some more trees also would be removed, as the shoulder of the parkway is being widened to 8 feet (2.4m) to give drivers room to pull over.[31]
Following the 2007 and 2011 incidents, the state became more aggressive in closing the parkway in times of severe weather. The parkway was closed during Tropical Storm Irene[32] and the Halloween nor'easter in 2011, and Hurricane Sandy in 2012. With each of those storms, many trees and limbs fell across the parkway. After Sandy, the state began a large effort to remove unhealthy trees, and in the process created much wider clearances between the roadside and forest.[30]
In addition to numerous trees along the Parkway, interchanges were originally designed with Right-in/right-out (RIRO) ramps with no acceleration or deceleration lanes. Crashes were common at Parkway onramps, as vehicles entering the Parkway would have to stop at the top of the ramp and wait for a break in traffic, then rapidly accelerate to meet highway speeds on the heavily-traveled roadway. The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) has made progress in improving safety at interchanges by revising ramp configurations and adding acceleration/deceleration lanes, although a few of the original RIRO interchanges remain.
The Merritt Parkway Advisory Committee meets quarterly.[31][33]
Exit list
Like most highways in Connecticut, exits are numbered sequentially, not mile-based, though the state is gradually transitioning to milepost-based exit numbers and expects that the Merit Parkway will be completed in 2024/2025.[34] Exit numbers on the Merritt Parkway continue from the original sequential exits of the Hutchinson River Parkway, which ended at 27;[5]:15 since 2021, the Hutchinson River Parkway has used a mileage-based system ending at 19A.[35] King Street (NY 120A), which travels along the state border, is served by exit 27 on the Merritt Parkway and exit 19A on the Hutchinson River Parkway. Prior to 2021, because additional interchanges had been added on the New York side, exit 19A on the Hutchinson River Parkway was numbered as exit 30.
The New Jersey Turnpike (NJTP) is a system of controlled-access toll roads in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The turnpike is maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. The 117.2-mile (188.6 km) mainline's southern terminus is at the Delaware Memorial Bridge on I-295 in Pennsville. Its northern terminus is at an interchange with US 46 in Ridgefield Park. Construction of the mainline, from concept to completion, took a total of 22 months between 1950 and 1951. It was opened to traffic on November 5, 1951, between its southern terminus and exit 10.
The Bronx River Parkway is a 19.12-mile (30.77 km) limited-access parkway in downstate New York in the United States. It is named for the nearby Bronx River, which it parallels. The southern terminus of the parkway is at Story Avenue near the Bruckner Expressway in the Bronx neighborhood of Soundview. The northern terminus is at Kensico Circle in North Castle, Westchester County, where the parkway connects to the Taconic State Parkway and via a short connector, New York State Route 22 (NY 22). Within the Bronx, the parkway is maintained by the New York State Department of Transportation and is designated New York State Route 907H (NY 907H), an unsigned reference route. In Westchester County, the parkway is maintained by the Westchester County Department of Public Works and is designated unsigned County Route 9987 (CR 9987).
Route 139 is a state highway in Jersey City, New Jersey in the United States that heads east from the Pulaski Skyway over Tonnele Circle to the state line with New Jersey and New York in the Holland Tunnel, which is under the Hudson River, to New York City. The western portion of the route is a two-level highway that is charted by the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) as two separate roadways: The 1.45-mile (2.33 km) lower roadway (Route 139) between U.S. Route 1/9 (US 1/9) over Tonnele Circle and Interstate 78 (I-78) at Jersey Avenue, and the 0.83-mile (1.34 km) upper roadway running from County Route 501 and ending where it joins the lower highway as part of the 12th Street Viaduct, which ends at Jersey Avenue. The lower roadway is listed on the federal and NJ state registers of historic places since 2005. The eastern 1.32 miles (2.12 km) of the route includes the Holland Tunnel approach that runs concurrent with Interstate 78 on the one-way pair of 12th Street eastbound and 14th Street westbound. Including the concurrency, the total length of Route 139 is 2.77 miles (4.46 km).
The Atlantic City Expressway, officially numbered, but unsigned, as Route 446 and abbreviated A.C. Expressway, ACE, or ACX, and known locally as the Expressway, is a 44.1-mile (70.97 km) controlled-access toll road in the U.S. state of New Jersey, managed and operated by the South Jersey Transportation Authority. It serves as an extension of the freeway part of Route 42 from Turnersville southeast to Atlantic City. The Atlantic City Expressway is signed as east–west, though the mileage and exits decrease as if one is travelling north–south. It connects Philadelphia and the surrounding Philadelphia metro area with Atlantic City and other Jersey Shore resorts, and also serves other South Jersey communities, including Hammonton and Mays Landing. The expressway intersects many major roads, including Route 73 in Winslow Township, Route 54 in Hammonton, Route 50 in Hamilton Township, the Garden State Parkway in Egg Harbor Township, US 9 in Pleasantville, and the Atlantic City–Brigantine Connector near the eastern terminus in Atlantic City.
The Garden State Parkway (GSP) is a controlled-access toll road that stretches the north–south length of eastern New Jersey from the state's southernmost tip near Cape May north to the New York state line at Montvale. Its name refers to New Jersey's nickname, the "Garden State". The parkway has an unsigned reference number of Route 444 by the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT). At its north end, the road becomes the Garden State Parkway Connector, a component of the New York State Thruway system that connects to the Thruway mainline in Ramapo, New York.
Florida's Turnpike, designated as unsigned State Road 91, is a controlled-access toll road in the U.S. state of Florida, maintained by Florida's Turnpike Enterprise (FTE). Spanning approximately 309 miles (497 km) along a northwest–southeast axis, the turnpike is in two sections. The SR 91 mainline runs roughly 265 miles (426 km), from its southern terminus at an interchange with Interstate 95 (I-95) in Miami Gardens to an interchange with I-75 in Wildwood at its northern terminus. The Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike continues from the southern end of the mainline for another 48 miles (77 km) to US Highway 1 in Florida City. The slogan for the road is "The Less Stressway". The mainline opened in stages between 1957 and 1964, while the extension was completed in 1974. The turnpike runs through Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach, where it parallels I-95, and through Orlando, where it crosses I-4.
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".
Colonial Parkway is a 23-mile (37 km) scenic parkway linking the three points of Virginia's Historic Triangle, Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown. It is part of the National Park Service's Colonial National Historical Park. Virginia's official state classification for the parkway is State Route 90003. With portions built between 1930 and 1957, it links the three communities via a roadway shielded from views of commercial development. The roadway is toll-free, is free of semi trucks, and has speed limits of around 35 to 45 mph. As a National Scenic Byway and All-American Road, it is also popular with tourists due to the James River and York River ends of the parkway.
Interstate 195 (I-195) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the US state of Virginia. Known as the Beltline Expressway, the highway runs 3.24 miles (5.21 km) from State Route 195 (SR 195), a toll road that continues south into Downtown Richmond, north to I-64 and I-95 on the northern edge of Richmond. I-195 passes through the West End of Richmond and connects I-64 and I-95 with US Route 33 (US 33) and US 250, which follow Broad Street, and with SR 76, a toll road that links Richmond with the Southside of the metropolitan area.
State Route 76 is a controlled-access toll road in the U.S. state of Virginia. Known as the Powhite Parkway, the state highway runs 13.04 miles (20.99 km) from SR 652 near Midlothian north to Interstate 195 (I-195) in Richmond. SR 76 connects SR 288, U.S. Route 60, and SR 150 in Chesterfield County with I-195 and SR 195 west of Downtown Richmond. The highway includes a pair of mainline barrier toll plazas and ramp toll plazas at most interchanges, all of which accept E-ZPass. SR 76 is maintained by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) in Chesterfield County and the Richmond Metropolitan Authority in the city of Richmond. The Richmond section of the freeway was constructed in the early 1970s; the highway was extended to its current terminus in Chesterfield County in the late 1980s.
State Road 589 (SR 589), also known as the Veterans Expressway and Suncoast Parkway, is a controlled-access toll road near the Florida Gulf Coast. Maintained and operated by Florida's Turnpike Enterprise, this 68-mile (109 km) transportation corridor extends from State Road 60 in Tampa, north to State Road 44 near Lecanto. The Veterans Expressway was built to accommodate the increasing commuter traffic in the Tampa-St. Petersburg metropolitan area, with the Suncoast Parkway opening in 2001, extending from near the northern terminus of the Veterans Expressway to U.S. Route 98, with a possible northern extension to U.S. Route 19/U.S. Route 98 in Crystal River in Citrus County in the planning and development stages. As of February 28, 2022, Phase I of the extension is now open between US 98 and Florida State Road 44. Phase II, which would further extend the highway to County Road 486, is undergoing the design phase.
In the field of road transport, an interchange or a grade-separated junction is a road junction that uses grade separations to allow for the movement of traffic between two or more roadways or highways, using a system of interconnecting roadways to permit traffic on at least one of the routes to pass through the junction without interruption from crossing traffic streams. It differs from a standard intersection, where roads cross at grade. Interchanges are almost always used when at least one road is a controlled-access highway (freeway) or a limited-access highway (expressway), though they are sometimes used at junctions between surface streets.
The Connecticut Turnpike is a freeway and former toll road in the U.S. state of Connecticut; it is maintained by the Connecticut Department of Transportation (ConnDOT). Spanning approximately 128 miles (206 km) along a generally west–east axis, its roadbed is shared with Interstate 95 (I-95) for 88 miles (142 km) from the New York state border in Greenwich to East Lyme; I-395 for 36 miles (58 km) from East Lyme to Plainfield; and SR 695 for four miles (6.4 km) from Plainfield to the Rhode Island state line at U.S. Route 6 (US 6) in Killingly. The turnpike briefly runs concurrently with US 1 from Old Saybrook to Old Lyme and Route 2A from Montville to Norwich.
The William H. Natcher Green River Parkway was the designation for a 72.3-mile (116.4 km) freeway that ran from Bowling Green to Owensboro in the US commonwealth of Kentucky. The Natcher Parkway was one of nine highways that were a part of Kentucky's parkway system. The portion north of Interstate 65 (I-65) was signed as I-165, and the portion south of I-65 as Kentucky Route 9007 on March 6, 2019.
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.
The Cross County Parkway (CCP) is a 4.46-mile (7.18 km) controlled-access parkway in lower Westchester County, New York, in the United States. The parkway is a critical east–west connection throughout Westchester, having full interchanges with every major north–south highway in southern Westchester with the exception of Interstate 95. Among its junctions, it has access to the New York State Thruway mainline. The western terminus is at the Saw Mill Parkway in Yonkers. The eastern terminus is at the Hutchinson River Parkway in Eastchester.
Interstate 95 (I-95) is an Interstate Highway running along the East Coast of the United States from Miami, Florida, north to the Canadian border at Houlton, Maine. In Maryland, the route is a major highway that runs 110.01 miles (177.04 km) diagonally from southwest to northeast, entering from the District of Columbia and Virginia at the Woodrow Wilson Bridge over the Potomac River, northeast to the Delaware state line near Elkton. It is the longest Interstate Highway within Maryland and is one of the most traveled Interstate Highways in the state, especially between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., despite alternate routes along the corridor, such as the Baltimore–Washington Parkway, U.S. Route 1 (US 1), and US 29. I-95 also has eight auxiliary routes in the state, the most of any state along the I-95 corridor. Portions of the highway, including the Fort McHenry Tunnel and the Millard E. Tydings Memorial Bridge, are tolled.
The Milford Parkway, officially the Daniel S. Wasson Connector, is a controlled-access parkway between I-95 and U.S. Route 1 and the Merritt and Wilbur Cross Parkways in Milford, New Haven County, Connecticut. The highway is officially designated by the Connecticut Department of Transportation as State Road 796 but is not signed as such. As a designated scenic road, the Milford Parkway is closed to commercial vehicles.
The Charter Oak Bridge is one of the three highway bridges over the Connecticut River between Hartford, Connecticut and East Hartford, Connecticut. The twin steel stringer bridge carries the Wilbur Cross Highway over the river.
The Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Bridge carries the controlled-access Merritt Parkway over the Housatonic River, between Stratford and Milford, Connecticut.
1 2 Shannahan, John W. (April 17, 1991). "National Register of Historic Places in America". Retrieved March 14, 2020. National Park Service Certification I, hereby, certify that this property is: entered in the National Register [signed Beth L. Savage] 4-17-91[...]The Merritt Parkway, Connecticut's ALL-YEAR GATEWAY TO NEW ENGLAND, Welcome to our State. We want you to enjoy your stay here and to come again. [signed Raymond E. Baldwin ] Governor
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Merritt Parkway
Hutchinson River Parkway at the New York state line
Route 15 / Wilbur Cross Parkway / Milford Parkway in Milford 
