Connecticut Route 15
Route 15 | ||||
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Route information | ||||
Maintained by ConnDOT | ||||
Length: | 83.53 mi[1] (134.43 km) | |||
Existed: | 1932 (relocated 1948) – present | |||
Restrictions: | No commercial vehicles, trailers, towed vehicles, buses, or hearses on Merritt and Wilbur Cross Parkways[2] | |||
Major junctions | ||||
South end: | NY 120A / Hutchinson River Parkway in Rye Brook | |||
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 | |||
Location | ||||
Counties: | Fairfield, New Haven, Hartford | |||
Highway system | ||||
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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 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. The unified designation was applied to these separate highways in 1948 to provide a continuous through route from New York to Massachusetts.
Route description
Route 15 begins at the New York border as the Hutchinson River Parkway becomes the Merritt Parkway, a 37.27 mile landscaped limited-access road with many sharp curves and low overpasses. The parkway proceeds in a mostly east-northeasterly direction. Major junctions along the parkway include US 7 in Norwalk, and the Route 8 expressway in Trumbull. As Route 15 crosses the Housatonic River on the Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Bridge from Fairfield County into New Haven County, it becomes the 29.46 mile Wilbur Cross Parkway, which continues in the same east-northeasterly direction before turning more northeasterly in North Haven. Major junctions include the Milford Parkway (SR 796), a connector providing access to Interstate 95 and US 1 beginning just east of the Sikorsky Bridge; US 5 in Wallingford; and a complex set of interchanges in Meriden providing access to I-91, I-691, and the Route 66 expressway. The parkway ends about a mile north of I-691 as US 5 joins Route 15 and the road becomes a four-lane divided highway with signalized and at-grade intersections known as the Berlin Turnpike. After entering Hartford County, it meets the Route 9 expressway at a complex interchange in Berlin. After 11.21 miles on the turnpike, Route 15 and US 5 become the Wilbur Cross Highway in Wethersfield as the Berlin Turnpike becomes Route 314. After another complex interchange with I-91, it crosses the Connecticut River on the Charter Oak Bridge between Hartford and East Hartford. US 5 leaves the expressway just after the bridge in an interchange that also provides access to the Route 2 expressway. After 5.64 miles on the Wilbur Cross Highway, Route 15 ends as it merges into I-84 east. [3]
There are vehicle restrictions on the Merritt and Wilbur Cross Parkways (e.g., no trucks).[2]
History
The Route 15 designation was created as part of the 1932 state highway renumbering and originally ran from New Haven through Middletown, East Hartford and Stafford Springs to the Massachusetts state line in Union. The original route used the pre-expressway alignment of modern Route 17 to Glastonbury, Main Street to East Hartford center, U.S. Route 5 to the junction with Route 30, then modern Route 30 to Stafford, then modern Route 190 to Union, and modern Route 171 to the Massachusetts state line.[4]
In 1943, a newly constructed two-lane highway (now the Wilbur Cross Highway) between Tolland and Union was opened to traffic. Route 15 was relocated on this new highway and the former Route 15 between Route 74 and Route 190 (then part of Route 20) was redesignated as Route 30. By 1948, the rest of the old two-lane Wilbur Cross Highway to East Hartford had also opened, connecting to the Charter Oak Bridge and the Hartford Bypass. In 1948, the State Highway Department decided to relocate Route 15 to a series of roadways, namely the Merritt Parkway, Wilbur Cross Parkway, Berlin Turnpike, Hartford Bypass, Charter Oak Bridge, and the new Wilbur Cross Highway, creating a modern, high-speed throughway from the New York state line to the Massachusetts state line. The Route 15 designation was applied to the previously unnumbered parkways from Greenwich to Meriden, then overlaid with U.S. Route 5 through East Hartford, then designated on the southern half of the Wilbur Cross Highway to Tolland, connecting with the portion previously designated as Route 15 five years before. The former Route 15 between South Windsor and Tolland was reassigned as an extension of Route 30, and the former Route 15 between New Haven and Glastonbury became redesignated as Route 17.[4][5]
In 1948, a portion of the Wilbur Cross Parkway between Route 34 and Whitney Avenue had still been under construction. Route 15 was temporarily routed along Route 34, Sherman Avenue (former Routes 5 and 10), Henry Street/Munson Street/Hillside Place/Edwards Street (former Route 5), and Whitney Avenue (former Route 10A). By 1949, the Wilbur Cross Parkway was completed and the temporary Route 15 designation was removed from the surface streets. Further improvements in the Wilbur Cross Highway took place over the next several years and the road became a four-lane divided highway by 1954. In 1968, most of the Wilbur Cross Highway was designated as I-86 and further upgrades to the road were implemented. Route 15 and I-86 overlapped from the current 15/84 junction in East Hartford to the Massachusetts state line. In 1984, the overlap was removed, truncating Route 15 to its current northern end, while at the same time I-86 was redesignated as I-84.[5]
Exit list
County | Location | mi | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fairfield | Greenwich | 0.00 | 0.00 | – | Hutchinson River Parkway south – New York City | New York state line, exit numbering roughly continues south |
0.05 | 0.080 | 27 | NY 120A north (King Street) – Armonk | |||
3.48 | 5.60 | 28 | Round Hill Road – Greenwich | To Greenwich business district | ||
4.69 | 7.55 | 29 | Lake Avenue – Greenwich | |||
5.65 | 9.09 | 31 | North Street – Greenwich | To Greenwich business district | ||
Stamford | 8.90 | 14.32 | 33 | Den Road – Stamford | ||
9.48 | 15.26 | 34 | Route 104 (Long Ridge Rd.) – Stamford, Long Ridge | To downtown Stamford and University of Connecticut (Stamford campus) | ||
10.67 | 17.17 | 35 | Route 137 (High Ridge Rd.) – Stamford, High Ridge | |||
New Canaan | 13.24 | 21.31 | 36 | Route 106 (Old Stamford Rd.) – New Canaan, Springdale | ||
14.14 | 22.76 | 37 | Route 124 – New Canaan, Darien | |||
Norwalk | 15.88 | 25.56 | 38 | Route 123 (New Canaan Ave.) – New Canaan, Norwalk | access to Norwalk Community College | |
17.30 | 27.84 | 39 | US 7 to I-95 – Norwalk, Danbury | Split into exits 39A (south) and 39B (north); Northbound exits and southbound entrances; interchange redesign in proposal stage[6] | ||
17.58 | 28.29 | 40 | Main Avenue – Norwalk | Split into exits 40A (south) and 40B (north). Unsigned SR 719. To US 7 – Norwalk, Danbury signed southbound. | ||
Westport | 20.65 | 33.23 | 41 | Route 33 – Westport, Wilton | ||
21.57 | 34.71 | 42 | Route 57 – Westport, Weston | |||
Fairfield | 27.04 | 43.52 | 44 | Route 58 – Fairfield, Redding | To Fairfield business district and Fairfield University | |
28.53 | 45.91 | 46 | Route 59 – Fairfield, Easton | General Electric Headquarters | ||
Trumbull | 29.23 | 47.04 | 47 | Park Avenue – Trumbull | access to the University of Bridgeport and Sacred Heart University | |
30.58 | 49.21 | 48 | Route 111 (Main St.) – Long Hill, Monroe | Single-point urban interchange | ||
32.17 | 51.77 | 49 | Route 25 – Bridgeport, Danbury | Split into exits 49N (north) and 49S (south) northbound. No southbound exits to Route 25 southbound. | ||
32.76 | 52.72 | 50 | Route 127 – Trumbull | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||
33.73 | 54.28 | 51 | Route 108 (Nichols Ave.) – Trumbull, Stratford | Northbound exit and southbound entrance only | ||
34.14 | 54.94 | 52 | Route 8 to Route 108 – Bridgeport, Waterbury | Split into exits 52N (north) and 52S (south); no northbound access to Route 8 southbound; use Exit 51 | ||
Stratford | 36.87 | 59.34 | 53 | Route 110 – Stratford, Shelton | ||
Housatonic River | 37.27– 37.62 | 59.98– 60.54 | Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Bridge North end of Merritt Parkway, south end of Wilbur Cross Parkway | |||
New Haven | Milford | 37.79 | 60.82 | 54 | To I-95 / US 1 – Milford, New London | Milford Parkway |
38.37 | 61.75 | 55A | Wheelers Farms Road | Signed as exit 55 southbound | ||
38.49 | 61.94 | 55B | Wolf Harbor Road | Northbound exit only | ||
Orange | 41.49 | 66.77 | 56 | Route 121 – Orange | ||
42.83 | 68.93 | 57 58 | Route 34 east – New Haven Route 34 west – Derby | |||
Woodbridge | 46.51– 46.75 | 74.85– 75.24 | 59 | Route 63 / Route 69 – Woodbridge, New Haven | ||
47.14– 47.37 | 75.86– 76.23 | Heroes Tunnel (formerly West Rock Tunnel) | ||||
Hamden | 50.21 | 80.81 | 60 | Route 10 – Hamden, New Haven | ||
51.58 | 83.01 | 61/62 (NB) 61 (SB) | Whitney Avenue – Hamden, New Haven | Split into exits 61 (south) and 62 (north) southbound. | ||
51.99 | 83.67 | 62 | Dixwell Avenue- Hamden, North Haven | Northbound exit and entrance only | ||
52.67 | 84.76 | Route 40 – Hamden, North Haven | Proposed interchange | |||
North Haven | 53.33 | 85.83 | 63 | Route 22 – North Haven | ||
Wallingford | 58.38 | 93.95 | 64 | S. Turnpike Rd., Quinnipiac St. – Wallingford | ||
58.66 | 94.40 | 65 | Route 150 – Yalesville | |||
61.08 | 98.30 | 66 | US 5 – Wallingford, Meriden | |||
Meriden | 63.14 | 101.61 | – | ConnDOT Maintenance Facility | Access to/from Miller Avenue | |
64.13 | 103.21 | 67S | I-91 south – New Haven, N.Y. City | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||
64.32 | 103.51 | 67 | E. Main St. – Downtown Meriden | Joint exit with I-91 | ||
64.83 | 104.33 | 68 N-E | I-91 north / Route 66 east – Hartford, Middletown | Northbound exit and southbound entrance, split into exits 68N (I-91) and 68E (Route 66) | ||
65.26 | 105.03 | 68W | I-691 west – Meriden, Waterbury | No southbound exit | ||
66.89 | 107.65 | – | US 5 south (North Broad Street) to Route 66 / I-691 – Meriden | Southern terminus of US 5 overlap; Limited access ends North end of Wilbur Cross Parkway, south end of Berlin Turnpike | ||
Hartford | Berlin | 71.58 | 115.20 | – | Route 9 / Route 372 – East Berlin, Middletown, New Britain | Full interchange |
71.94 | 115.78 | – | Worthington Ridge Road (SR 572) | |||
72.76 | 117.10 | – | Route 160 east – Rocky Hill | |||
Newington | 74.26 | 119.51 | – | Route 173 north – West Hartford | ||
74.88 | 120.51 | – | Route 176 north – Newington | |||
76.27 | 122.74 | – | Route 287 west – Newington | Western terminus of CT 287 overlap | ||
76.34 | 122.86 | – | Route 287 east – Wethersfield | Eastern terminus of CT 287 overlap | ||
Wethersfield | 76.97 | 123.87 | – | Route 175 – Newington, New Britain, Wethersfield | Full interchange | |
77.89 | 125.35 | – | Route 314 east (Berlin Turnpike) to Maple Avenue | US 5 and CT 15 leave the Berlin Turnpike, south end of the Wilbur Cross Highway. Northbound exit and southbound entrance. | ||
79.81 | 128.44 | 85 | Route 99 south – Wethersfield, Rocky Hill | |||
Hartford | 80.39 | 129.38 | 86 | I-91 south – New Haven, N.Y. City | ||
80.78 | 130.00 | 87 | Airport Road, Brainard Road – Brainard Airport | With I-91 exit 27 | ||
81.27 | 130.79 | 89 | I-91 north to I-84 west – Hartford, Springfield | Northbound exit and southbound entrance. | ||
Connecticut River | 81.56– 82.21 | 131.26– 132.30 | Charter Oak Bridge | |||
East Hartford | 81.95 | 131.89 | 90 | US 5 north (Main Street) / East River Drive Route 2 – Norwich, Hartford | Northern terminus of US 5 overlap. Access to Route 2 is from northbound only. | |
82.97 | 133.53 | 91 | Silver Lane | Northbound exit only. Unsigned SR 502 | ||
83.53 | 134.43 | – | I-84 / US 6 east – Boston | Northern terminus of CT 15 | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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References
- ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-07-26. Retrieved 2008-01-18.
- 1 2 Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles: Registering a Pick-up Truck with Passenger Plates
- ↑ Connecticut State Highway Log (2006) Archived 2015-07-26 at WebCite
- 1 2 kurumi.com - Route 15
- 1 2 Larry Larned, "Route 15: The Road to Hartford", (Arcadia Publishing, 2002)
- ↑ Koch, Robert (February 25, 2009). "DOT offers revised Route 7/Merritt interchange plan". The Hour. Norwalk. Retrieved July 29, 2011.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Connecticut Route 15. |