But today, drivers should say, "Happy Birthday." The National Scenic Byway opened its first section on June 29, 1938. That portion was from Greenwich to Norwalk.
The section from Norwalk to Trumbull was completed in November 1939 and, the road was finished to the Housatonic River in Stratford in 1940.
The parkway was named for U.S. Rep. Schuyler Merritt, a Stamford Republican.
ConnecticutHistory.org, a project of CT.Humanities.org, features a new blog entry on the highway called "Merritt Parkway Creates Scenic Gateway to New England." You can read it here.
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