| Route information | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maintained byCTDOT | ||||
| Length | 83.53 mi[1] (134.43 km) | |||
| Existed | 1932[2] (relocated 1948)–present | |||
| Restrictions | No commercial vehicles south of exit 64A[3] | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end | ||||
| Major intersections | ||||
| North end | ||||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Connecticut | |||
| Counties | Fairfield,New Haven,Hartford | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Route 15 is astate highway in theU.S. state ofConnecticut that runs 83.53 miles (134.43 km) from a connection withNew York'sHutchinson River Parkway inGreenwich, Connecticut, to its northern terminus intersecting withInterstate 84 (I-84) inEast Hartford, Connecticut. Route 15 consists of four distinct sections: theMerritt Parkway, theWilbur Cross Parkway (bothfreeways), most of theBerlin Turnpike, and part of theWilbur Cross Highway. The unified designation was applied to these separate highways in 1948 to provide a continuous through route from New York to Massachusetts. The parkway section of Route 15 is often referred to locally as"The Merritt".

Route 15 begins at theNew York border, where theHutchinson River Parkway continues southwest towardsNew York City, at theNew York State Route 120A interchange in the village ofRye Brook, in the town ofRye, New York. The highway comes into the state of Connecticut, continuing as theMerritt Parkway, a four-lane controlled-accessparkway with low bridges, sharp curves, and a tree-filled median, that passes through the affluent urbanized areas of southernFairfield County. Commercial vehicles are prohibited on this section of Route 15. The parkway heads into the town ofGreenwich, where it passes a service plaza in both directions and curves north-northwest, before heading northeast and meeting interchanges at Round Hill Road, providing access to Downtown Greenwich, and at Lake Avenue. From there, Route 15 turns northeast, and curves through its interchange with North Street, which provides another outlet into Downtown Greenwich. Past this interchange, the parkway enters the city ofStamford, where it crosses over theMianus River within theMianus River State Park, before reaching an interchange withRoute 104 in the residential areas ofNorth Stamford, providing access toDowntown Stamford and theUniversity of Connecticut Stamford Campus. Route 15 continues to an interchange withRoute 137 before the route leaves Stamford.[4]
The parkway comes into the town ofNew Canaan, where it crosses theNoroton River within its interchange withRoute 106, adjacent to theTalmadge Hill station on theNew Canaan Branch of theMetro-North Railroad'sNew Haven Line, located to the southeast of the interchange. Afterwards, Route 15 passes under the New Canaan Branch and curves around to meet an interchange forRoute 124 before reaching the New Canaan Service Plaza. After crossing the Fivemile River, the parkway enters the city ofNorwalk and immediately comes to an interchange withRoute 123, which provides access to theNorwalk Community College. Just past its crossing of theSilvermine River, Route 15 meets theU.S. Route 7 (US 7) freeway at an incomplete interchange before it crosses over theDanbury Branch of the New Haven Line just south of theMerritt 7 station, and theNorwalk River and comes to a cloverleaf interchange with Main Avenue which provides the missing movements between the parkway and US 7. From there, Route 15 continues northeast through residential areas in the neighborhood ofCranbury before it leaves Norwalk, after crossing overRoute 53 without an interchange.[4]

The parkway enters the town ofWestport, where it crosses over theSaugatuck River, and comes to right-in/right-out interchanges withRoute 33, just east of the town line. Route 15 turns to the northeast again, upon reaching its interchange withRoute 57, that has a park and ride lot serving the town of Westport in its northwest corner. Immediately after this interchange, the parkway crosses overRoute 136 with no access and enters its longest stretch without exits, where it passes more wooded residential areas and comes into the town ofFairfield, where it meets its next interchange, five and a half miles later, atRoute 58, which also has a park and ride lot, located in its southeastern corner. Route 58 provides access to bothFairfield Center and the campus ofFairfield University. Route 15 crosses theMill River, passes service plazas in both directions, and then meetsRoute 59 at a pair of right-in/right-out interchanges. Route 59 provides access to the headquarters ofGeneral Electric. The parkway turns east-northeast and enters the town ofTrumbull at its interchange with Park Avenue, which provides access to the campus ofSacred Heart University just to the southwest of the road, as well as the campus of theUniversity of Bridgeport in the adjacent city ofBridgeport. Route 15 then reaches asingle-point urban interchange withRoute 111, adjacent to theWestfield Trumbull shopping mall, in its southwestern corner. The parkway meets theRoute 25 freeway at an incomplete turbine interchange, which provides access to theBeardsley Zoo in Bridgeport, and the route crosses thePequonnock River within the interchange. Past Route 25, Route 15 reaches a southbound exit and northbound entrance forRoute 127 and then a full interchange forRoute 108, in tandem with stack interchange with theRoute 8 freeway.[4]
Route 15 comes into the town ofStratford through more wooded suburban areas, and reaches an interchange withRoute 110 at the northeastern edge of town. Past this interchange, the parkway runs due east to cross theIgor Sikorsky Memorial Bridge over theHousatonic River where it leaves both Stratford and Fairfield County. Route 15 enters bothMilford andNew Haven County, coming to a modified trumpet interchange with theMilford Parkway which provides access to both theI-95 freeway andUS 1, north of Downtown Milford. At this point, the Merritt Parkway ends and Route 15 turns northeast again through the wooded residential areas of southwestern New Haven County.[4]
The next component of Route 15, the Wilbur Cross Parkway, begins at the Milford Parkway junction. The Wilbur Cross Parkway follows the same general configuration and landscape as the Merritt Parkway, continues with the Merritt Parkway's exit numbers, and excludes commercial vehicles from its use, too. A few miles after the Milford Parkway, Route 15 comes into the town ofOrange, where it passes a bi-directional service plaza, and meetsRoute 121 at a pair of right-in/right-out ramps, which provides access to the Orange campus of theUniversity of New Haven. Now running north-northeast, Route 15 continues to a cloverleaf interchange withRoute 34 which provides access eastbound to theYale Bowl, in the city ofNew Haven. The parkway crosses theWepawaug River, where it turns northeast and enters the town ofWoodbridge, passing underRoute 114 without access. Route 15 again crosses a boundary and comes into New Haven, where it meets an interchange withRoute 69/Route 63 that provides access to the campus ofSouthern Connecticut State University, in the neighborhood ofAmity, crossing theWest River within the interchange.[4]

From here, the parkway briefly crosses back through the southeastern corner of Woodbridge, before coming back into New Haven, and enteringHeroes Tunnel which passes underWest Rock Ridge State Park. Immediately after exiting the tunnel, Route 15 comes into the town ofHamden, where it heads into a mix of residential and commercial areas around its interchange withRoute 10. The parkway then enters the town ofNorth Haven, where it crosses theMill River and passes under theRoute 40 freeway as the only freeway crosspath[check spelling] in the state without an interchange, overEast Rock. A short distance later, the parkway meets an interchange withRoute 22 and continues northeast to the last pair of service plazas on the route. Past the plazas, Route 15 turns north-northeast along the western edge of theQuinnipiac River State Park, where the route enters the town ofWallingford. In Wallingford, the parkway has exits to Quinnipiac Street providing access to Gaylord Specialty Healthcare and theWallingford station onAmtrak andConnDOT'sHartford Line, as well asRoute 150 that provides access to the Masonicare Health Center. Route 15 crosses theQuinnipiac River and turns northeast, where it comes to an interchange forUS 5, where it also crosses the Hartford Line.[4]
Route 15 continues northeast into the city ofMeriden and passes entrances to the ConnDOT maintenance facilities. The parkway continues a short distance before reaching an interchange complex on the east side of town. First, Route 15 crosses over theI-91 freeway, where it turns north to reach a southbound exit and northbound entrance, before meeting East Main Street, which provides access to theWesleyan University campus, where the Interstate Highway begins to run inside the median. The parkway widens to six lanes through here, then reaches the next exits for northbound I-91 with a northbound exit and southbound entrance, as well as a northbound exit and southbound entrance to and from the westbound direction of theI-691 freeway, where there is also access from westbound I-691 to the northbound Wilbur Cross Parkway. Past I-691, Route 15 narrows back to four lanes, and turns north-northwest before heading north-northeast again, where the Wilbur Cross Parkway ends and northbound US 5 merges with northbound Route 15 to head toward the suburban areas ofGreater Hartford.[4]

Route 15 continues onto a four-lanearterial road concurrent with US 5, known as theBerlin Turnpike, running between Silver Lake to the west andLamentation Mountain to the east. Here, it passes along a commercial strip before passing areas of residence. The highway enters the town ofBerlin andHartford County, and briefly forms the western edge ofLamentation Mountain State Park, before heading back into commercial areas. An old alignment of the Berlin Turnpike, splits to the west, while US 5/Route 15 curve to their interchange with theRoute 9 freeway andRoute 372, in which all access besides the ramps from US 5/Route 15 to southbound Route 9 and from southbound Route 9 to US 5/Route 15 is made via Route 372. North of Route 9, the old alignment of the Berlin Turnpike rejoins the new road briefly, before splitting again, this time to the east. The highway crosses theMattabesset River before intersecting the western terminus ofRoute 160. US 5/Route 15 passes rows of shopping centers, as it comes into the town ofNewington, intersecting the southern terminus ofRoute 173, which heads north towards the town ofWest Hartford. The highway continues to its junction with the southern terminus ofRoute 176, which heads north towards the center of Newington. A park and ride lot is located in the northeastern corner of this intersection, with Griswoldville Avenue. From here, US 5/Route 15 passes the ConnDOT headquarters on the east, prior to reaching the intersections withRoute 287. The highway leaves Newington at its interchange withRoute 175, which heads west towards the center of town and east towards the town ofWethersfield.[4]
After the Route 175 interchange, US 5/Route 15 enters Wethersfield and passes more commercial areas before reaching the partial interchange withRoute 314. The Berlin Turnpike splits and continues north-northeast along Route 314, narrowing to a two-lane undivided road, until it reaches theHartford city line, continuing into that city as Maple Avenue. US 5/Route 15 exits onto a four-lane freeway that heads northeast towards I-91 as a controlled-access outlet into Hartford.[4]
Past Route 314, US 5/Route 15 continue onto theWilbur Cross Highway, a four-lane freeway with ajersey barrier in the middle. The highway passes through wooded urbanized areas, to the southeast of the Connecticut Department of Labor headquarters, before it comes to an interchange with the northern terminus ofRoute 99, in which the overpass that carries the two routes over that route and theProvidence and Worcester Railroad'sConnecticut Valley Railroad line is called the Clinton "Jiggs" Hughes Memorial Bridge. Next, US 5/Route 15 comes into Hartford, turns north-northeast at an interchange withI-91, where there are ramps from northbound and southbound US 5/Route 15 to southbound I-91, and from northbound I-91 to northbound I-91 to southbound US 5/Route 15. The next interchange at Brainard Road/Airport Road with access toHartford-Brainard Airport, has no southbound exit. The highway continues through industrial areas and comes exits from the southbound Wilbur Cross Highway to Southbound I-91, as well as an exit from the northbound Wilbur Cross Highway and northbound I-91 that also provides access to westboundI-84.[4]

From here, US 5/Route 15 cross over theConnecticut River on theCharter Oak Bridge, where the routes enter the town ofEast Hartford. On the other side of the bridge, there is an interchange servingRoute 2, where northbound US 5 splits and exits Route 15 onto Main Street, which runs north through the center of East Hartford. Route 15 curves to a northbound exit and southbound entrance with Silver Lane, before the highway reaches its northern terminus and merges onto eastbound I-84 andUS 6. A dedicated connection also exists between Route 15 and I-84/US 6's high-occupancy vehicle lanes. The Wilbur Cross Highway continues northeast along I-84 towardsInterstate 90/Massachusetts Turnpike inSturbridge, Massachusetts.[4][5][3]
The Route 15 designation was created as part of the1932 state highway renumbering and originally ran fromNew Haven throughMiddletown,East Hartford andStafford Springs to theMassachusetts state line inUnion.[2] The original route used the pre-expressway alignment of modernRoute 17 toGlastonbury, Main Street to East Hartford center,U.S. Route 5 to the junction withRoute 30, then modern Route 30 toStafford, then modernRoute 190 to Union, and modernRoute 171 to the Massachusetts state line.[6]
The Wilbur Cross Parkway is named afterWilbur Lucius Cross, a former governor of the state (1931–1939). Theparkway was originally planned in 1937 as route from US 1 in Milford to the Massachusetts state line in Union. The portion of the parkway south of Meriden was built largely as planned. Construction began in 1939 when federal funds were secured. The first section of the parkway to open was the Milford to Orange segment, from the Housatonic River (Exit 37) toRoute 34 (Exits 42A and 42B) at the end of 1941. Subsequent construction was delayed byWorld War II. After the war, two more sections of the parkway opened: the segment from US 5 in Wallingford (Exit 61) to US 5 in Meriden (Exit 65B), bypassing the city center opened in 1946; and the segment from Route 10A in Hamden (Exit 511) to US 5 in Wallingford opened in 1947. In 1948, a portion of the Wilbur Cross Parkway betweenRoute 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. Because the New Haven segment had not yet been completed, motorists were directed to temporarily follow Route 34, US 5, and Route 10A. In November 1949, the New Haven segment, from Exits 42A and 42B to Exit 52, including theWest Rock Tunnel opened.
The entire parkway was a toll road when it opened in 1941. Tolls were removed from both the Merritt and Wilbur Cross Parkways in 1988. Reflecting its history as a toll road, two pairs of service plazas lie opposite one-another along the parkway where the tolls once stood, inOrange andNorth Haven. Both have been renovated since 2011, along with six further south on the Merritt Parkway. In addition to gas pumps and an Alltown convenience store at each plaza, they now includeDunkin' Donuts andSubway shops.[7] Prior to the renovations, no fast-food service had been available at any of the plazas. Three abandoned rest areas remain along the parkway, in Woodbridge, New Haven, and Meriden.
In 1943, a newly constructed two-lane highway (now theWilbur Cross Highway) betweenTolland and Union was opened to traffic. Route 15 was relocated on this new highway and the former Route 15 betweenRoute 74 andRoute 190 (then part ofRoute 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 theCharter Oak Bridge and theHartford Bypass. In 1948, the State Highway Department decided to relocate Route 15 to a series of roadways, namely theMerritt Parkway,Wilbur Cross Parkway,Berlin Turnpike, Hartford Bypass, Charter Oak Bridge, and the new Wilbur Cross Highway, creating a modern, high-speed throughway from theNew York state line to the Massachusetts state line. The Route 15 designation was applied to the previously unnumbered parkways fromGreenwich toMeriden, then overlaid with US 5 through East Hartford, then designated on the western 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.[6][8]
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 asI-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.[8]
Exits were converted to mileage-based exit numbering starting on July 28, 2025.[9]
| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Old exit | New exit | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairfield | Greenwich | 0.00 | 0.00 | Continuation intoNew York | |||
| 0.05 | 0.080 | 27 | 19B | Access to NY 120A south via Hutchinson River Parkway. exit 19A; Armonk not signed northbound; exit no. corresponds to Hutchinson River Parkway. | |||
| 3.39 | 5.46 | 28 | 3 | Round Hill Road | ToGreenwich Business District | ||
| 4.16 | 6.69 | 29 | 4 | Lake Avenue | |||
| 30 | Butternut Hollow Road | At-grade intersection; intersection closed 1955[10] | |||||
| 5.71 | 9.19 | 31 | 5 | North Street | ToGreenwich Business District | ||
| Stamford | 8.89 | 14.31 | 33 | 8 | Den Road | Right-in/right-out connections only | |
| 9.22 | 14.84 | 34 | 9 | ToDowntown Stamford andUniversity of Connecticut Stamford Campus | |||
| 10.40 | 16.74 | 35 | 10 | ||||
| New Canaan | 13.15 | 21.16 | 36 | 13 | |||
| 13.89– 14.10 | 22.35– 22.69 | 37 | 14 | ||||
| Norwalk | 16.01 | 25.77 | 38 | 16 | ToNorwalk Community College | ||
| 16.87– 17.31 | 27.15– 27.86 | 39 | 16-17A | Northbound exit and southbound entrance; exit 3 on US 7; redesign in proposal stage[11] | |||
| 17.53– 17.63 | 28.21– 28.37 | 40 | 17 | Signed for US 7 southbound, Main Avenue northbound; signed as exits 17B and 17C northbound, exits 17A and 17B southbound | |||
| Westport | 20.73 | 33.36 | 41 | 20 | |||
| 21.59 | 34.75 | 42 | 21 | Route 136 not signed | |||
| Fairfield | 26.95 | 43.37 | 44 | 27 | To Fairfield Business District andFairfield University | ||
| 28.58 | 46.00 | 46 | 28 | To West Campus ofSacred Heart University; access viaSR 713/SR 726[12] | |||
| Trumbull | 29.31 | 47.17 | 47 | 29 | Park Avenue | ToUniversity of Bridgeport andSacred Heart University | |
| 30.37 | 48.88 | 48 | 30 | Southern terminus of Route 111;single-point urban interchange | |||
| 31.64– 32.69 | 50.92– 52.61 | 49 | 31–32 | No southbound access to Route 25 south; exit 5 on Route 25; signed as exits 31 and 32 northbound, exit 32A southbound | |||
| 32.99 | 53.09 | 50 | 32B | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | |||
| 33.51 | 53.93 | 51 | 33 | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | |||
| 33.77– 34.57 | 54.35– 55.64 | 52 | 34 | No northbound access to Route 8 south/Route 108; exits 5 and 6 on Route 8 | |||
| Stratford | 36.54 | 58.81 | 53 | 36 | |||
| Housatonic River | 37.53 | 60.40 | Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Bridge | ||||
| New Haven | Milford | 37.67 | 60.62 | 54 | 37 | Access viaMilford Parkway south and exits 3A and 3B on Milford Parkway north | |
| Transition betweenMerritt and Wilbur Cross Parkways | |||||||
| 38.14– 38.66 | 61.38– 62.22 | 55 | 38 | Wheelers Farms Road | Signed as exit 38A northbound | ||
| 55B | 38B | Wolf Harbor Road | Northbound exit only | ||||
| Orange | 41.32 | 66.50 | 56 | 41 | |||
| 42.69– 43.00 | 68.70– 69.20 | 57-58 | 42A-B | Cloverleaf interchange; signed as exits 42A (Route 34 east) and 42B (Route 34 west) | |||
| New Haven | 46.57– 46.70 | 74.95– 75.16 | 59 | 46 | Southern Connecticut State University signed northbound | ||
| Woodbridge | 47.20– 47.43 | 75.96– 76.33 | Heroes Tunnel (formerly West Rock Tunnel) | ||||
| Hamden | 50.00 | 80.47 | 60 | 50 | New Haven not signed northbound;Southern Connecticut State University signed southbound | ||
| 51.72 | 83.24 | 61 | 51 | Whitney Avenue (SR 707) –Hamden,New Haven | Signed as exits 52 Hamden and 51 New Haven southbound | ||
| 51.82– 52.15 | 83.40– 83.93 | 62 | 52 | Dixwell Avenue (SR 717) | Northbound exit and entrance | ||
| North Haven | 53.45 | 86.02 | 63 | 53 | |||
| Wallingford | 58.17 | 93.62 | 64 | 58A | Wallingford | No northbound entrance; access via Quinnipiac Street | |
| 58.55 | 94.23 | 65 | 58B | ||||
| 61.12– 61.26 | 98.36– 98.59 | 66 | 61 | ||||
| Meriden | 63.02 | 101.42 | 62 | ConnDOT Maintenance Facility | Access via Miller Avenue | ||
| 64.05 | 103.08 | 67S | 64A | Southbound exit and northbound entrance; exit 19B on I-91; all trucks must exit | |||
| 64.25 | 103.40 | 64A | Under construction, northbound exit only | ||||
| 64.33 | 103.53 | 67 | 64B | East Main Street | Signed forWesleyan University | ||
| 64.63 | 104.01 | 68N-E | 65A | Northbound exit and southbound entrance; exit 19B on I-91 | |||
| 64.95 | 104.53 | 68W | 65B | No southbound exit; exit 1B on I-691 | |||
| 66.89 | 107.65 | Transition between Wilbur Cross Parkway andBerlin Turnpike | |||||
| Southern end of US 5 concurrency; southbound exit and northbound entrance | |||||||
| Northern end of freeway section | |||||||
| Module:Jctint/USA warning: Unused argument(s): mspan | |||||||
| Hartford | Berlin | 71.38– 71.63 | 114.87– 115.28 | Interchange; exits 31 and 32 on Route 9 | |||
| Worthington Ridge Road (SR 572 south) | |||||||
| 72.76 | 117.10 | Western terminus of Route 160 | |||||
| Newington | 74.26 | 119.51 | Southern terminus of Route 173 | ||||
| 74.88 | 120.51 | Southern terminus of Route 176 | |||||
| 76.27 | 122.74 | Southern end of Route 287 concurrency | |||||
| 76.34 | 122.86 | Northern end of Route 287 concurrency | |||||
| Wethersfield | 76.87 | 123.71 | Interchange | ||||
| 77.89 | 125.35 | Southern end of freeway section | |||||
| Northbound exit and southbound entrance | |||||||
| Transition betweenBerlin Turnpike andWilbur Cross Highway | |||||||
| 79.65 | 128.18 | 85 | Rocky Hill not signed northbound; Northern terminus of Route 99 | ||||
| Hartford | 80.05– 81.31 | 128.83– 130.86 | 86-89 | No southbound access to I-91 north; access via (SR 530) signed as exits 86 (I-91 south), 87 (Brainard Road/Airport Road) and 89 (I-91 north); exits 35B and 36 on I-91 | |||
| Connecticut River | 81.90 | 131.81 | Charter Oak Bridge | ||||
| East Hartford | 81.95 | 131.89 | 90 | Northern end of US 5 concurrency; access via (SR 502) no southbound access via Route 2 | |||
| 82.74 | 133.16 | 91 | Silver Lane (SR 502) | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | |||
| 83.53 | 134.43 | Northern terminus; exit 64A on I-84 | |||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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