Route 15: The Road to Hartford

Images of America: Connecticut

by Larry Larned

Hartford is an old New England river city separated from its eastern neighbors by the Connecticut River. With the opening of the Merritt Parkway in 1940 and construction of the Wilbur Cross Parkway inviting traffic from Boston and New York, the Connecticut legislature realized a new river bridge at Hartford would be a must for local and through traffic. This became a reality in 1942, when the Charter Oak Bridge was opened to traffic. By 1948, the system of roads and highways numbered Route 15 was completed, with Hartford as its focal point. The character of the three Connecticut parkways, the Berlin Turnpike, the Hartford Bypass, and the Charter Oak Bridge is described in Route 15: The Road to Hartford. Highway historian and retired highway engineer Larry Larned, author of Traveling the Merritt Parkway, has appeared in television and radio interviews speaking about Route 15 and the nation's early roads. Route 15: The Road to Hartford presents images from his forty years of collecting and documenting Connecticut roadside culture, architecture, and engineering. His detailed account of the road to Hartford includes personal recollections of traveling Route 15 as a youngster and studying the details along the way-the tollbooths, the bow-tied gas station attendants, the families on picnics at rest stops.

96 pages, Paperback

First published August 5, 2002

Reviews

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is fascinating reading, especially for a transplant to Connecticut. The history of the development of interstate and intrastate roads is quite interesting. As autos replaced earlier transportation our road systems had to change.

The Merritt Parkway was a leader in road design & opened in 1940. Soon the concept of another highway was promoted to relieve the shoreline congestion of US 1. That road became the Wilbur Cross Highway. Both roads were developed with interesting architectural bridge designs by George Dunkelberger.

Road designs were expanded to accommodate increasing traffic and The Berlin Turnpike evolved. The road's history includes some notariety.

The book is a treasure of old photos, describing vintage cars, bridge designs, tunnel development, and the 3 bridge constructions across the Connecticut River near Hartford.

I initially began reading this as an electronic book, but the pictures could not be appreciated. This is a fun book to learn history of an older era.