Merritt Parkway#Exit 47

{{main|Connecticut Route 15}}

File:Bridge MerrittPkwy.jpg bridge over the Merritt Parkway at Exit 46 in Fairfield.|alt=A bridge over the Merritt Parkway]]

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.{{cite web |url={{NRHP url|id=91000410}} |title=National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Merritt Parkway |access-date=February 12, 2015 |first1=Catherine |last1=Lynn|first2=Christopher |last2=Wigren |format=PDF |publisher=National Park Service |date=February 22, 1991}} {{NRHP url|id=91000410|title=Photos |photos=y}} 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-steel I-beams.{{cite web |title = Steel Structure |url = http://www.ct.gov/dot/lib/dot/documents/dpublications/highway/Chapter_13.pdf |publisher = Connecticut Department of Transportation |access-date = July 12, 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170221185858/http://www.ct.gov/dot/lib/dot/documents/dpublications/highway/Chapter_13.pdf |archive-date = February 21, 2017 |url-status = live }}

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 {{convert|5+1/2|mi|km}} long without a single exit, referred to by local traffic reports as the "No Exit Zone"{{cite web |url = http://www.dimebrothers.com/article.php?do=article&id=5 |title = Traffic: A Guide to the Pure Chaos of the Merritt Parkway |publisher = DimeBrothers |access-date = February 18, 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110710125821/http://www.dimebrothers.com/article.php?do=article&id=5 |archive-date = July 10, 2011 |url-status = live }} or "No Man's Land".{{Cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=zJRcBMXmhmsC&pg=PA84 |title = The Merritt Parkway |last = Radde |first = Bruce |location = New Haven, Connecticut |publisher = Yale University Press |year = 1993 |pages = 84 |isbn = 0-300-05379-7 |access-date = February 18, 2008 }} 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.{{cite web |url = https://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Why-is-there-no-Exit-43-on-the-Merritt-Parkway-13717306.php |title = Why is there no Exit 43 on the Merritt Parkway? |work = The News-Times |date = March 26, 2019 |access-date = April 6, 2019 |first = Jordan |last = Fenster |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190406221106/https://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Why-is-there-no-Exit-43-on-the-Merritt-Parkway-13717306.php |archive-date = April 6, 2019 |url-status = live }}

Vehicles {{convert|8|ft|m}} tall or taller in height, weighing {{convert|8000|lb|kg}} 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.{{Cite web |title = Connecticut Parkways: Vehicles Prohibited from Connecticut Route 15 (Merritt Parkway and Wilbur Cross Parkway) between the New York State Line & I-91 in Meriden, CT and State Route 796 (Milford Parkway) |url = http://portal.ct.gov/DOT/Commissions/STC/Connecticut-Parkways |publisher = Connecticut Department of Transportation |language = en |access-date = March 14, 2020 |date = January 15, 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200314070009/https://portal.ct.gov/DOT/Commissions/STC/Connecticut-Parkways |archive-date = March 14, 2020 |url-status = live }}{{cite web |url = http://www.ct.gov/dot/cwp/view.asp?A=2137&Q=294976 |title = What is allowed to travel on the Merritt Parkway? |publisher = Connecticut Department of Transportation |access-date = August 24, 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171103015419/http://www.ct.gov/dot/cwp/view.asp?A=2137&Q=294976 |archive-date = November 3, 2017 |url-status = dead }}

File:15 ent.jpg

The Merritt Parkway is one of the oldest scenic parkways in the United States.{{cite web |title = Connecticut Scenic Drives: Merritt Parkway |url = https://adventure.howstuffworks.com/scenic-drive-in-connecticut-merritt-parkway-ga.htm |website = HowStuffWorks |access-date = July 12, 2018 |language = en |date = April 12, 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180712183818/https://adventure.howstuffworks.com/scenic-drive-in-connecticut-merritt-parkway-ga.htm |archive-date = July 12, 2018 |url-status = live }} The portion from Greenwich to Norwalk was opened on June 29, 1938.{{cite news |url = https://www.newspapers.com/image/369892616/ |title = The Merritt Parkway |newspaper = Hartford Courant |page = 10 }}{{full|date=August 2024}} 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 {{convert|37|mi|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.{{cite web |title = CT's In A Jam, But More Road Capacity Isn't The Answer |url = http://www.courant.com/opinion/editorials/hc-ed-our-traffic-jams-worst-in-nation-20150831-story.html |work = Hartford Courant |access-date = July 12, 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180712190035/http://www.courant.com/opinion/editorials/hc-ed-our-traffic-jams-worst-in-nation-20150831-story.html |archive-date = July 12, 2018 |url-status = live }} After the parkway fully opened in 1940, travelers commonly stopped to picnic along the side of the road.{{Cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=diB_6jR_gpIC&pg=PA82 |title = Trumbull |isbn = 978-0-7385-3458-9 |author1 = Trumbull Historical Society |date = February 19, 2004 |publisher = Arcadia }} 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.{{cite book |last = Radde |first = Bruce |title = The Merritt Parkway |location = New Haven, Connecticut |publisher = Yale University Press |year = 1993 |page = 83 |isbn = 0-300-05379-7 }} 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.{{Cite web |url = http://portal.ct.gov/DOT/Highway-Design/Merritt-Parkway-Preservation--Landscape |title = Merritt Parkway Preservation Landscape |publisher = Connecticut Department of Transportation |language = en |access-date = March 14, 2020 }}{{Cite book |url = https://www.cga.ct.gov/2002/rpt/2002-R-0501.htm |title = Merritt Parkway Traffic Accident Analysis |id = 2002-R-0501 |last = Fazzalaro |first = James J. |date = May 17, 2002 |publisher = Connecticut General Assembly Office of Legislative Research |access-date = March 14, 2020 }} 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.{{cite web |url = http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/legacies/CT/200002790.html |title = Local Legacies — The Merritt Parkway |publisher = Library of Congress |year = 2000 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071004222447/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/legacies/CT/200002790.html |archive-date = October 4, 2007 |url-status = live }}{{cite web |url = http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-asked0124.artjan24,0,5131371.story?coll=hc-utility-local |archive-url = https://archive.today/20130119215808/http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-asked0124.artjan24,0,5131371.story?coll=hc-utility-local |url-status = dead |archive-date = January 19, 2013 |title = A Scenic Roadway that Bridges Many Divides |work = Hartford Courant |access-date = January 24, 2007 }} 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.{{cite web |last = Anderson |first = Steve |url = http://www.nycroads.com/roads/merritt/ |title = NYCRoads }}

In 1955, exit 30, an at-grade intersection with Butternut hollow road that crossed traffic in both directions, was permanently closed. It had already been declared a safety hazard.{{cite news |title = Crossover to be Closed |url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77401505/butternut-hollow-november-16-1955/ |access-date = May 9, 2021 |work = The Daily Item |date = November 16, 1955 |location = Port Chester, New York |page = 6 |via = Newspapers.com }}

File:Merritt3.jpg

In 1957, trees inside the median were cut down for the first time, and a median was installed on a treacherous curve that often got slippery when wet. These followed serious accidents caused by tree related crashes.{{cite web |last = Gombar |first = Richard |url = http://www.themerrittparkway.com/history.php |title = History |website = The Merritt Parkway - Connecticut's Historic Bridges }}

The road was initially maintained by the Merritt Parkway Commission, though in 1959, this was absorbed into CDOT and renamed the Merritt Partway Committee.http://ctmirror.org/2019/08/06/the-merritt-parkway-conservancy/#:~:text=Initially%20designed%20by%20the%20Merritt,by%20the%20Department%20of%20Transportation.

In the late 1960s, the segment of roadway from Stamford to Greenwich was reconstructed in order to make the roadway straighter.

In July 1976, the toll at the Greenwich Toll Plaza was increased from a nickel to 25 cents.{{cn|date=January 2025}}

In the late 1970s, a project to replace the Huntington Turnpike exit as well as the original Route 8 exit with new ramps was undertaken. The old ramps were demolished by 1979,{{cite web |last = Roth |first = Charles R. |url = https://www.trumbullhistory.org/the-merritt-parkway---the-queen-of-all-parkways.html |title = The Merritt Parkway: The Queen of All Parkways |publisher = Trumbull Historical Society }} with the new exits opened in 1983.

File:MerrittToll1955.jpg

Tolls were eliminated at the Greenwich Toll Plaza on June 27, 1988, as part of a mandate that abolished tolls on all of Connecticut's roads. The toll plaza is preserved in Stratford's Boothe Memorial Park near Exit 53, complete with still-flashing lights over each toll lane.

In 1992, a new interchange with US 7 was opened, which involved rebuilding another portion of roadway.

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.

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.{{Cite web |url = http://portal.ct.gov/DOT/General/History/Historical-Merritt-Parkway-Images |title = Historical Merritt Parkway Images |publisher = Connecticut Department of Transportation |language = en |access-date = March 14, 2020 |year = 2016 }}{{Cite web |url = http://portal.ct.gov/DOT/Construction-News-from-the-Connecticut-Department-of-Transportation/2017/Merritt-Parkway-Signage-to-be-Replaced |title = Merritt Parkway Signage to be Replaced |date = April 13, 2017 |publisher = Connecticut Department of Transportation |language = en |access-date = March 14, 2020 }}{{Cite web |url = https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/State-plans-to-replace-signs-on-Merritt-Parkway-11067830.php |title = State plans to replace signs on Merritt Parkway |last = Shay |first = Jim |date = April 12, 2017 |work = Connecticut Post |access-date = March 14, 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170416024850/https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/State-plans-to-replace-signs-on-Merritt-Parkway-11067830.php |archive-date = April 16, 2017 |url-status = live }}

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.

After years of environmental studies, the Connecticut Department of Transportation awarded an $87 million contract to Balfour Beatty Construction to build the replacement Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Bridge in 2000.{{cite web |url = http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19046524&BRD=1347&PAG=461&dept_id=432990&rfi=6 |title = New bridge wins praise |first = Jill K. |last = Dion |newspaper = Milford Mirror |date = November 21, 2007 |access-date = December 22, 2007 }}{{dead link|date=April 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} The southern half of the replacement bridge opened in 2003; the old bridge was demolished in 2004. In February 2004, the load unexpectedly shifted on a crane that was removing structural steel from the old bridge. The crane overturned and fell into the partially frozen Housatonic River, killing its operator. The remaining half of the bridge was completed in 2006, two years behind schedule.{{cite web |url = https://highways.dot.gov/about/field-offices |title = What's New - Connecticut Division |publisher = Federal Highway Administration |date = August 11, 2006 }}{{cite web |url = http://www.nycroads.com/roads/merritt/ |title = Merritt Parkway — Historic Overview |publisher = Eastern Roads |year = 2006 }}{{cite web |url = http://www.metropool.com/constructioninformation/construction_cp_sbrp.html |title = Sikorsky Bridge Replacement Project |publisher = MetroPool |year = 2006 |access-date = September 19, 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040429033627/http://www.metropool.com/constructioninformation/construction_cp_sbrp.html |archive-date = April 29, 2004 |url-status = dead }} The new bridge has a concrete deck, with an asphalt surface, three lanes in each direction, full left and right shoulders, a sidewalk for pedestrians, wrought-iron railing, and aesthetic lighting. The bridge also includes a system of concrete fenders that protects the bridge piers from ship collisions, a feature that was absent from the original span.

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 renumbering of the Merritt Parkway's exits will be completed in 2025.{{Cite web |title = Exit Renumbering |url = https://portal.ct.gov/dot/traffic-engineering/exit-renumbering?language=en_US |access-date = December 4, 2024 |publisher = Connecticut Department of Transportation |language = en }}

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|date=January 2020}}

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.{{cite web |title = EV Charging Stations |url = http://roadmapforth.org/program/presentations15/RichardHanley.pdf |access-date = June 5, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190605191617/http://roadmapforth.org/program/presentations15/RichardHanley.pdf |archive-date = June 5, 2019 |url-status = live }}

File:Entering the Merritt Parkway in Greenwich.jpg

{{More citations needed section|date=January 2020}}

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.{{cite news |last = Cassidy |first = Martin B. |title = State eliminates storm-weakened Merritt trees |url = http://www.newstimes.com/local/article/State-eliminates-storm-weakened-Merritt-trees-4121421.php |access-date = December 17, 2012 |newspaper = Danbury News-Times |date = December 15, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140226172954/http://www.newstimes.com/local/article/State-eliminates-storm-weakened-Merritt-trees-4121421.php |archive-date = February 26, 2014 |url-status = live }}

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 {{convert|5|mph|km/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 {{convert|8|ft|m|}} to give drivers room to pull over.

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{{cite news |url = http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/weather/severe_weather/irene-sunday-connecticut |title = Irene knocks out power, downs trees on approach |publisher = WTNH-TV |date = August 28, 2011 |access-date = September 1, 2011 |archive-date = September 18, 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110918065606/http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/weather/severe_weather/irene-sunday-connecticut |url-status = live }} 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.

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.{{cite news |last = Ginocchio |first = Mark |title = Merritt trees to face the ax |work = The Advocate |location = Stamford, Connecticut |date = July 27, 2007 |edition = Norwalk |pages = 1, A4 }}{{Cite web |title = Merritt Parkway Preservation Landscape |url = https://portal.ct.gov/DOT/Highway-Design/Merritt-Parkway-Preservation--Landscape |access-date = November 15, 2020 |publisher = Connecticut Department of Transportation |language = en }}

Exit numbers on the Merritt Parkway continue from the original sequential exits of the Hutchinson River Parkway, which ended at 27;{{rp|15}} since 2021, the Hutchinson River Parkway has used a mileage-based system ending at 19A.{{cite web |title = Old numbers make their exit on Hutchinson River Parkway |website = Pelham Examiner |date = July 23, 2021 |url = https://pelhamexaminer.com/37795/announcing/old-numbers-make-their-exit-on-hutchinson-river-parkway/ |access-date = August 5, 2021 }} 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.

{{jcttop|old|length_ref={{cite web |url = https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/DOT/documents/dpolicy/traflog/TrafficLog12pdf.pdf |title = 2012 Traffic Volumes, State Maintained Highway Network |author = Connecticut Department of Transportation |date = 2012 |publisher = Connecticut Department of Transportation |access-date = January 27, 2020 }}}}

{{CTint|old

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{{jct|state=CT|CT|15|dir1=begins}}

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{{CTint|old

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{{CTint|old

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{{CTint|old

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{{CTint|old

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{{CTint|old

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{{CTint|old

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{{CTint|old

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{{CTint|old

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|notes=To Norwalk Community College

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{{CTint|old

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|notes=Northbound exit and southbound entrance; signed as exits 16 (south) and 17A (north); exit 3 on US 7; redesign in proposal stage{{cite news |title = Route 7/15 Norwalk Project |url = http://7-15norwalk.com/ |access-date = May 22, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190328030115/http://7-15norwalk.com/ |archive-date = March 28, 2019 |url-status = live }}

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|notes=Signed as exits 17A (south) and 17B (north) southbound, exits 17B (south) and 17C (north) northbound; signed for US 7 southbound, Main Avenue northbound

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|location=Westport

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{{CTint|old

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|notes=To West Campus of Sacred Heart University; access via SR 713/SR 726[http://www.ct.gov/dot/LIB/dot/Documents/dpolicy/policymaps/tru/pdf/050_tru.pdf ConnDOT Map of Fairfield]

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|type=incomplete

|road={{jct|state=CT|CT|25|city1=Bridgeport|city2=Danbury}}

|notes=No southbound access to Route 25 south; signed as exits 31 (south) and 32 (north) northbound; exit 5 on Route 25

}}

{{CTint|old

|old=50

|exit=32B

|mile=32.99

|type=incomplete

|road={{Jct|state=CT|CT|127|city1=Trumbull}}

|notes=Southbound exit and northbound entrance

}}

{{CTint|old

|old=51

|exit=33

|mile=33.51

|type=incomplete

|road={{Jct|state=CT|CT|108|name1=Nichols Avenue}}

|notes=Northbound exit and southbound entrance

}}

{{CTint|old

|old=52

|exit=34

|mile=33.77

|mile2=34.57

|type=incomplete

|road={{Jct|state=CT|CT|8|CT|108|city1=Bridgeport|city2=Waterbury}}

|notes=No northbound access to Route 8 south/Route 108; exits 5-6 on Route 8

}}

{{CTint|old

|location=Stratford

|old=53

|exit=36

|mile=36.54

|road={{Jct|state=CT|CT|110|city1=Stratford|city2=Shelton}}

}}

{{jctbridge|old

|river=Housatonic River

|mile=37.53

|bridge=Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Bridge

}}

{{CTint|old

|county=New Haven

|cspan=2

|location=Milford

|lspan=2

|mile=37.67

|mspan=2

|old=54

|exit=37

|road={{jct|state=CT|I|95|US|1|to1=yes|city1=Milford|city2=New London}}

|notes=Access via Milford Parkway

}}

{{CTint|old

|mile=none

|old=–

|exit=–

|type=concur

|road={{jct|state=CT|CT|15|dir1=north|name1=Wilbur Cross Parkway|city1=Hartford}}

|notes=Continuation north; northern end of Route 15 concurrency

}}

{{jctbtm|old|keys=concur,incomplete}}

• The Willem de Kooning oil-on-canvas painting Merritt Parkway (1959) is owned by the Detroit Institute of Arts.{{cite web |url = http://www.davidrumsey.com/amica/amico651927-39331.html |title = Willem de Kooning, Merritt Parkway, 1959 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150923222904/http://www.davidrumsey.com/amica/amico651927-39331.html |archive-date = September 23, 2015 |publisher = Art Museum Images from Cartography Associates Library }}{{cite web |url = http://www.dekooning.org/documentation/words/content-is-a-glimpse |title = Content is a Glimpse: March 1960: Interview with David Sylvester, recorded March 1960 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150518094922/http://www.dekooning.org/documentation/words/content-is-a-glimpse |archive-date = May 18, 2015 |publisher = Willem de Kooning Foundation }}
• Lisa Seidenberg, a filmmaker from Westport, produced a documentary film, The Road Taken...The Merritt Parkway (2008).{{cite web |url = http://westporthistory.org/whs-events/the-road-taken-the-merritt-parkway/ |title = The Road Taken...The Merritt Parkway |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150518102121/http://westporthistory.org/whs-events/the-road-taken-the-merritt-parkway/ |archive-date = May 18, 2015 |publisher = Westport Historical Society |date = October 6, 2008 }}

File:Merritt Parkway (west segment).jpg|Map (western segment)

File:Merritt Parkway (east segment).jpg|Map (eastern segment)

File:TalmadgeHillStationBridgeOverMerrittPkwy2007.jpg|Talmadge Hill Metro-North station over the Merritt in New Canaan

{{Portal|Connecticut|U.S. Roads}}

• Merritt Parkway Bridges
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Fairfield County, Connecticut
• Connecticut Route 15

{{reflist}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{Cite book |last = Radde |first = Bruce |title = The Merritt Parkway |location = New Haven, Connecticut |publisher = Yale University Press |date = 1993 |isbn = 0-300-06877-8 }}
• {{Cite book |last = Larned |first = Larry |title = Traveling the Merritt Parkway |location = Charleston, S.C. |publisher = Arcadia |date = 1998 |isbn = 0-7524-0946-8 }}

{{refend}}

{{hidden begin|toggle=left|title=Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) documentation}}

All of the following are filed under Fairfield County, CT:

• {{HAER |survey=CT-63 |id=ct0484 |title=Merritt Parkway, Beginning in Greenwich & running 38 miles to Stratford |photos=119 |dwgs=21 |data=160 |cap=8 |link=no}}
• {{HAER |survey=CT-131 |id=ct0552 |title=Merritt Parkway, Greenwich (Northbound) Service Station |photos=2 |data=3 |cap=1 |link=no}}
• {{HAER |survey=CT-132 |id=ct0553 |title=Merritt Parkway, Greenwich (Southbound) Service Station |photos=2 |data=3 |cap=1 |link=no}}
• {{HAER |survey=CT-133 |id=ct0554 |title=Merritt Parkway, (Northbound) New Canaan Service Station |photos=1 |data=3 |cap=1 |link=no}}
• {{HAER |survey=CT-134 |id=ct0555 |title=Merritt Parkway, (Southbound) New Canaan Service Station |photos=1 |data=3 |cap=1 |link=no}}
• {{HAER |survey=CT-135 |id=ct0556 |title=Merritt Parkway, (Southbound) Maintenance Garage |photos=4 |data=5 |cap=1 |link=no}}
• {{HAER |survey=CT-136 |id=ct0557 |title=Merritt Parkway, (Northbound) Fairfield Service Station |photos=3 |data=3 |cap=1 |link=no}}
• {{HAER |survey=CT-137 |id=ct0558 |title=Merritt Parkway, (Southbound) Fairfield Service Station |photos=2 |data=3 |cap=1 |link=no}}
• {{HAER |survey=CT-138 |id=ct0559 |title=Merritt Parkway, Toll Booth, Boothe Memorial Park, Stratford |photos=1 |cap=1 |link=no}}
• {{HAER |survey=CT-139 |id=ct0563 |title=Merritt Parkway, Visitor's Center, Greenwich |photos=2 |cap=1 |link=no}}

{{hidden end}}

{{Attached KML|display=inline,title}}

{{Commons category|Connecticut Route 15}}

{{Commons category|Merritt Parkway}}

• [http://www.cslib.org/merritt/ Merritt Parkway Exhibit (Connecticut State Library)]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20081013192542/http://www.merrittparkway.org/default.asp Merritt Parkway Conservancy]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070203182456/http://www.byways.org/browse/byways/2452/photos.html Photos of the parkway at byways.org]
• [https://portal.ct.gov/DOT/Commissions/STC/Connecticut-Parkways Connecticut Dept of Transportation rules about what vehicles are allowed on the parkway]
• [http://www.greaternyroads.info/roads/ctstate/ct15 CT 15 (Greater New York Roads)]

Category:National Scenic Byways

Category:Roads on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut

Category:State highways in Connecticut

Category:Transportation in Fairfield County, Connecticut

Category:Parkways in the United States

Category:Former toll roads in Connecticut

Category:Works Progress Administration in Connecticut

Category:National Register of Historic Places in Fairfield County, Connecticut

Category:Historic American Engineering Record in Connecticut

Category:Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut

Category:1938 establishments in Connecticut

Category:Transportation in New Haven County, Connecticut