CONNECTICUT – Built in 1938 as a public works project that runs parallel to one of the country’s oldest and most heavily traveled roads – U.S. Route 1, this “Gateway to New England” became Connecticut’s first multi-lane, limited-access roadway. The 37.5-mile parkway preserved and enhanced the scenic countryside with its beautiful landscaping, planting 22,000 trees and 40,000 shrubs, and 69 artistically designed, unique overpass and underpass ornamental Art Deco and Art Moderne bridges. Dedicated to the parkway’s history, the Merritt Parkway Museum in Stratford is across from a bike/pedestrian path near the iconic Sikorsky Bridge and Housatonic River.