Information AboutMerritt Parkway |
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The Merritt Parkway is a limited-access highway in Connecticut , designated as a National Scenic Byway . Signed as ''' Route 15 ''', it runs from the New York state line in Greenwich , where it serves as the continuation of the Hutchinson River Parkway , to the Housatonic River in Stratford , where the Wilbur Cross Parkway begins. However, it is the nearly universal habit of local residents when giving directions to describe the entire length of Route 15 as the "Merritt," which often confuses visitors and new residents since most printed maps label the segments of Route 15 by their official names. The Merritt Parkway is one of the oldest Parkways in the United States and is acknowledged for the beauty of the forest that it passes through, as well as the architectural design of its overpasses. At the time of its construction, each bridge was decorated in a unique fashion so no two bridges on the parkway looked alike. Some of these bridges were constructed by the Works Project Administration (WPA). Recent reconstruction on several of the parkway's bridges did not maintain this tradition, and as a result the highway is now spanned by several ordinary modern bridges constructed using undecorated Concrete on Steel I-beam s. The parkway has two lanes in each direction. Due to its age, it was constructed without the merge-lanes, long on-ramps, and long off-ramps that are found on modern limited-access highways. Some entrances have perilously short and/or sharp ramps; some entrances even have stop signs, with no merge lane whatsoever; this leads to some very exciting entrances onto the highway. The speed limit on the parkway ranges from 45 to 55 mph (70 to 90 km/h). The highway was named after U.S. Congressman Schuyler Merritt . The section from Greenwich to Norwalk opened on June 29, 1938 and the section from Norwalk to the Housatonic River opened in 1940 . Miscellany
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