Connecticut Route 15

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Route 15

Length:

83.53 mi (134.43 km)

Formed:

1948

South end:

Hutchinson River Parkway in Greenwich

Major
junctions:

US 7 in Norwalk

Route 8 in Trumbull

I-91/I-691 in Meriden

Route 9 in Berlin

Route 2 in East Hartford

North end:

I-84/US 6 in East Hartford

Routes in Connecticut
< Route 14		Route 16 >
Minor – Service Roads – State Roads

Route 15 is a highway in Connecticut that runs 83.53 miles long from a connection with New York's Hutchinson River Parkway in Greenwich, Connecticut to its northern terminus intersecting with Interstate 84 in East Hartford, Connecticut. Route 15 consists of four distinct sections: the Merritt Parkway, the Wilbur Cross Parkway, the Berlin Turnpike, and part of the Wilbur Cross Highway.

1 Route description
2 History
3 Notes
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Route description

From the New York border eastward to the Housatonic River, Route 15 is a landscaped limited-access parkway known formally as the Merritt Parkway (37.27 miles). It crosses the Housatonic River on the Igor Sikorsky Memorial Bridge.

East of the Housatonic, Route 15 remains a limited-access highway and becomes the Wilbur Cross Parkway (29.46 miles), running in a northeasterly direction from Milford to Meriden.

In Meriden, Route 15 becomes an arterial road with stoplights and at-grade intersections that runs northward to Wethersfield and is known as the Berlin Turnpike (11.21 miles).

From Wethersfield until its terminus in East Hartford, Route 15 runs along the Wilbur Cross Highway (5.59 miles). It crosses the Connecticut River on the Charter Oak Bridge between Hartford and East Hartford and terminates at an interchange with I-84 in East Hartford.

[edit] History

Route 15 originally continued northeast, closely following the route of present-day Interstate 84 to the Massachusetts state line, where it continued as Route 15 to US 20 and the Massachusetts Turnpike. The Route 15 designation was transferred to the freeway after it was built, and remained on the freeway until 1984, when both the Route 15 and Interstate 86 designations were both removed in favor of the road simply marked Interstate 84

[edit] Notes

Route 15's Merritt Parkway section was constructed from 1938 to 1940, and was designed to be both a fast-moving traffic conduit as well as a literally landscaped "park"-way. The majority of Route 15 in Fairfield County is lined with dense trees and crossed by bridges designed individually for each interchange. The Merritt also uses unique historical signage until it crosses the Housatonic, at which point it becomes the Wilbur Cross and regular signage is used. The Merritt is also called The Queen of all Parkways for its design and scenic beauty.