Merritt Parkway - History

History

The Merritt Parkway is one of the oldest parkways in the United States. The portion from Greenwich to Norwalk was opened on June 29, 1938. The section from Norwalk to Trumbull was completed in November 1939 and in 1940 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 would later become the modern Route 15. Built between 1934 and 1940, the Merritt runs for 37 miles (60 km) 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. Six rest areas featuring parking lots, Mobil gas stations, and convenience stores were also built so that drivers would not have to exit to refuel. These are located at either side of the parkway in Fairfield (exit 46), New Canaan (near exit 37) and Greenwich (CT-NY state line).

After the parkway fully opened in 1940, it was not uncommon for travelers to stop and picnic along the side of the road. The Merritt Parkway Advisory Commission (later the Merritt Parkway Advisory Committee) decided upon banning horses and buggies, bicycles, pedestrians, billboards, and U-turns while a system of horse trails along the parkway were developed but were later abandoned.

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.

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 neo-classical and modern design. Some of these bridges were constructed by the Works Progress Administration.

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's Boothe Memorial Park near Exit 53, complete with still-flashing lights over each toll lane.

In April 2001, a complete reissuance of the parkway's signs was carried out creating a uniform white-on-green and sawtooth border.