Written by Barbara Toombs

While there are many wonderful road trips to be had in the northeastern part of the United States, only one can be driven along what is known as the “Queen of Parkways,” considered the most scenic highway in Connecticut and recognized as one of the most scenic of its kind in the nation: Merritt Parkway.

Governor Wilbur Cross announced the creation of the Merritt Parkway in 1934. Named after then U.S. Rep. Congressman Schuyler Merritt, the divided highway was intended to take traffic off the hugely congested Route 1 and improve access to New York City. It played a crucial role in the rapid commercial and residential development of Fairfield County, Connecticut, in the 1930s and 1940s.

The Merritt Parkway, which has just two lanes in each direction, opened in sections from 1938 to 1940, originally beginning in Greenwich and running 38 miles to Stratford. Today the parkway extends 83 miles to East Hartford. The project was funded by the New Deals’ WPA (Works Progress Administration) and PWA (Public Works Administration) at a time when the Federal Highway System was not even envisioned and the United States had not yet entered into World War II.

As one of the first roads to combine the beauty and leisure of scenic recreational parkways with the efficiency of high-speed motorways, the Merritt Parkway represented a significant development in the evolution of American highway design. Its landscaping and layout was arranged with great care, and included the addition of 22,000 trees and 40,000 plantings.

Among the parkway’s most notable features are its bridges. Designed by architect George Dunkelberger to add to the beauty of their natural surroundings, no two of the original 69 bridges looked alike; each exemplified architectural styles that included Art Deco, Art Moderne, French Renaissance, Gothic, Neoclassicism and Rustic. Dunkelberger’s goal was to highlight the openness of the countryside surrounding the parkway so drivers could enjoy the scenic beauty of Connecticut while passing through.

Early Merritt Parkway maps promoted the 1938 road as the “Gateway to New England” and advised travelers of the rules of the road. Today’s drivers can use a more updated publication – “A Guide to the Merritt Parkway” – produced by the Merritt Parkway Conservancy, which was established in late 1999 to maintain and protect the historic roadway’s landscaping and bridges.

The guide (available at MerrittParkway.org) highlights some of the great bridges and their remarkable details, great old trees, swamps and rivers, stone walls and rock outcrops. It also provides useful information about the many parks, arts and science centers, historic sites and traditional town centers easily accessible from the parkway.

Travelers on the parkway do need to take note that commercial vehicles are prohibited, as are trailers of any kind. The rules of the road also prohibit any vehicles weighing more than 7,500 pounds, or those with dimensions exceeding 24 feet long, 7.5 feet wide or 8 feet high (in consideration of those older bridges). While tolls were collected on the parkway from 1939 through 1988, drivers no longer have to pay for the privilege of traveling the scenic road.

There’s even a Merritt Parkway Museum. Located in the Ryder’s Landing Shopping Center in Stratford and open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., it features archives, photos and a 30-minute video describing the early challenges of building “The Merritt,” as it is known locally.

The unique thoroughfare was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991 – uncommon for a highway – and was declared by the state of Connecticut to be a State Scenic Highway and by the U.S. government to be a National Scenic Byway.

Today, 85 years after its groundbreaking, the words spoken by Congressman Merritt still resonate: “This great highway is not being constructed primarily for rapid transit but for pleasant transit. This county is fortunate in having such beautiful backcountry and it is our great duty to see that these beauties are preserved.”

A leisurely journey along Connecticut’s Merritt Parkway will illustrate that great duty has indeed been achieved.

Photos courtesy of Connecticut Department of Transportation and Library of Congress – Prints and Photographs Division