Berlin Turnpike

Berlin Turnpike
Map of central Connecticut with Berlin Turnpike highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by ConnDOT
Length:	12.17 mi (19.59 km)
Existed:	1909 – present
Component highways:	US 5 / Route 15 from Berlin to Wethersfield
Major junctions
South end:	US 5 / Route 15 in Meriden
	Route 9 in Newington
North end:	US 5 / Route 15 in Wethersfield
Location
Counties:	New Haven, Hartford
Highway system
Routes in Connecticut Interstate U.S. State SSR SR

The Berlin Turnpike is a 4-lane/6-lane divided arterial road carrying U.S. Route 5 and Route 15 through the towns of Meriden, Berlin, Newington, and Wethersfield, Connecticut, United States. The road begins south of the Meriden-Berlin town line. The official length of the Berlin Turnpike is 12.17 miles (19.58 km) but the northernmost 1.07 miles (1.72 km) does not carry US 5 or Route 15. The northernmost section runs partly along Route 314 for 0.69 miles (1.11 km), and then on State Road 543 for 0.38 miles (0.61 km) to the Hartford–Wethersfield town line, where it continues as a local road known as Maple Avenue.

Route description

A view of the Berlin Turnpike

The Berlin Turnpike connects the Wilbur Cross Parkway with the Wilbur Cross Highway.

The main office of the Connecticut Department of Transportation (ConnDOT) is located on the Berlin Turnpike in Newington on land originally purchased for Interstate 291, which was subsequently cancelled.

The road was originally part of the Hartford and New Haven Turnpike. The new road, and the new name, was officially dedicated between Hartford and Berlin on October 22, 1909.^[1]

The Berlin Turnpike is a popular road for shopping in the greater Hartford area; many national and regional retail chains, including Target, Stew Leonard's, Best Buy and Sam's Club have outlets on the turnpike.

In 2011, a 525 page book entitled, "The Berlin Turnpike: A True Story of Human Trafficking in America," was written by author, Raymond Bechard. The book explains a federal trial that took place in Hartford, Connecticut during which it was revealed that two young women were "sold" from one man to another in a motel on the Berlin Turnpike. According to the book, there were over 1000 motel rooms on the Berlin Turnpike as of 2011. ^[2]

History

The Hartford and New Haven Turnpike was a toll road (turnpike) that was built in 1798-1799 to connect the cities of New Haven and Hartford in the U.S. state of Connecticut.

The Hartford and New Haven Turnpike was chartered in 1798.^[3]

The turnpike was built along the principle of a straight line and connected the courthouses of New Haven and Hartford in as straight a route as the terrain allowed. Its southern end was at Grove Street,^[3] which forms the northern boundary of the original nine squares of New Haven. Because of the straight line principle, several intermediate town centers are bypassed by the turnpike.

The roads used by the turnpike still exist today but the route is no longer a main road in the New Haven area. In the Hartford area, the turnpike road has been substantially widened and straightened out as the Berlin Turnpike, a major commercial thoroughfare.

Major intersections

County	Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
New Haven	Meriden	0.00	0.00	US 5 south / Route 15 south to I-91 south – Wallingford, New Haven, NY City	Southern terminus of US 5/CT 15 overlap. US 5 becomes North Broad Street and CT 15 becomes the Wilbur Cross Parkway
Hartford	Berlin	4.69	7.55	Route 9 / Route 372 – East Berlin, Middletown, New Britain	Full interchange
		5.05	8.13	Worthington Ridge Road (SR 572)
		5.87	9.45	Route 160 east – Rocky Hill
	Newington	7.37	11.86	Route 173 north – West Hartford
		7.99	12.86	Route 176 north – Newington
		9.38	15.10	Route 287 west – Newington	Western terminus of CT 287 overlap
		9.45	15.21	Route 287 east – Wethersfield	Eastern terminus of CT 287 overlap
	Newington–Wethersfield line	10.08	16.22	Route 175 – Newington, New Britain, Wethersfield	Grade separated interchange
	Wethersfield	11.10	17.86	US 5 / Route 15 north – East Hartford	Western terminus of CT 314
		11.79	18.97	Route 314 east	Southern terminus of unsigned SR 543
	Wethersfield–Hartford line	12.17	19.59	Maple Ave (local) Hartford	Northern terminus of Berlin Turnpike and SR 543 at Hartford city line. Road becomes Maple Avenue.
	1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

Popularity of Turnpike

For many years, "Hot Rodders" of all types have converged on the Turnpike to "Run what you Brung", and have proved to be the bane of the local Law Enforement's existence. There have been numerous articles in local news outlets about the spate of Illegal street racing over the years that have detailed what has been transpiring on the Turnpike, and the various steps the local Law Enforcement was taking to curtail the issue. However, the long, straight roadway, which in some places has no access roads, has proven irresistible to some street racers.^[4][5]

References

1. Hartford Courant, Opening State's Best Road Today, October 22, 1909
2. Droney, Christopher (9 June 2008). "Federal Judge". Court Testimony of United States vs. Dennis Paris.
3. William Phipps Blake (1888). History of the Town of Hamden, Connecticut. pp. 93–94.
4. "Police try to keep Drivers in Line"- Sportbike.net
5. "Police have Eyes on the Road"

External links

• Kurumi's Berlin Turnpike page