The Berlin Turnpike is a major thoroughfare carrying

U.S. Route 5 U.S. Route 5 (US 5) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway running through the New England states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Significant cities along the route include New Haven, Connecticut; Hartford, Conn ...

(US 5) and Route 15 in

New Haven County New Haven County is a county in the south central part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. As of the 2020 census, the population was 864,835, making it the third-most populous county in Connecticut. Two of the state's five largest cities, New Ha ...

and

Hartford County Hartford County is a county located in the north central part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. According to the 2020 census, the population was 899,498, making it the second-most populous county in Connecticut. Hartford County contains t ...

in the

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

state of

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. The road begins one mile south of the Meriden–

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

town line where Route 15 on the

Wilbur Cross Parkway Route 15 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Connecticut that runs from a connection with New York's Hutchinson River Parkway in Greenwich, Connecticut, to its northern terminus intersecting with Interstate 84 (I-84) in East ...

merges with US 5 along North Broad Street in Meriden and terminates at the Wethersfield–

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

town line. The local name of the street varies as it passes through multiple towns. south of the Hartford city line, US 5 and Route 15 leave the turnpike and follow the

Wilbur Cross Highway The Wilbur Cross Highway is a freeway running along a portion of Connecticut Route 15 and U.S. Route 5 from Wethersfield to East Hartford, Connecticut, and then continuing northeast as a section of Interstate 84, part of which is also ...

northeast through Hartford towards the

Charter Oak Bridge The Charter Oak Bridge is one of the three highway bridges over the Connecticut River between Hartford, Connecticut, and East Hartford, Connecticut. The twin steel stringer bridge carries the Wilbur Cross Highway (U.S. Route 5 in Connecticut, U ...

. The Berlin Turnpike continues north as a two-lane undivided road as part of Route 314 for , and then as SR 543 for before entering Hartford as the municipally-maintained Maple Avenue.

Route description

The Berlin Turnpike begins at a

fork In cutlery or kitchenware, a fork (from 'pitchfork') is a utensil, now usually made of metal, whose long handle terminates in a head that branches into several narrow and often slightly curved tines with which one can spear foods either to h ...

interchange between Route 15, which continues south as the controlled-access

, and US 5, which continues south as a local road named Broad Street. The turnpike is the only segment of Route 15 that is not a freeway, as it is an

arterial road An arterial road or arterial thoroughfare is a high-capacity urban road that sits below highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights o ...

with multiple

at-grade intersection An intersection or an at-grade junction is a junction where two or more roads converge, diverge, meet or cross at the same height, as opposed to an interchange, which uses bridges or tunnels to separate different roads. Major intersections ar ...

s, some with traffic lights, as well as businesses on both sides of the road. The turnpike has grade-separated interchange with Route 9 and Route 372 in

, as well as Route 175 on the border between Newington and Wethersfield. In Wethersfield, US 5 and Route 15 leave the turnpike for the controlled-access

heading towards

. This is the western terminus of Route 314, which takes a right turn onto Jordan Lane soon after to actually proceed in the eastbound direction. From Jordan Lane to the city line, the turnpike is unsigned SR 543. At the city line, the road becomes Maple Avenue and continues north towards

Downtown Hartford Downtown Hartford, Connecticut is the primary business district of the city, and the center of Connecticut's state government. Because of the large number of insurance companies headquartered there, Hartford is known as the "Insurance Capital of ...

Speeding issues

The long straight trajectory of the Berlin Turnpike has allowed it to become prone to excessive speeding and deadly accidents. In June 2007, a driver was clocked driving at a speed of , despite a posted speed limit of .

History

The Hartford and New Haven Turnpike was a

toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and ...

chartered in 1798 and built in 1798-99 to connect the cities of

New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...

and

in the U.S. state of

. The turnpike was built to connect the

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a structure which houses judicial functions for a governmental entity such as a state, region, province, county, prefecture, regency, or similar governmental unit. A courthouse is home to one or more courtrooms, ...

s of New Haven and Hartford in as straight a route as was allowed by the terrain. Its southern terminus was at Grove Street, which forms the northern boundary of the original nine squares of New Haven. The road's straight line principle caused several intermediate town centers to be bypassed. Since the turnpike's original construction, the roadway has been realigned and substantially widened to become the Berlin Turnpike that it is today — a major commercial thoroughfare. Many parts of the original alignment are maintained as local roads or unsigned state roads.

Junction list

References

External links

{{Portal, Connecticut
Kurumi's Berlin Turnpike page
B Transportation in Hartford County, Connecticut U.S. Route 5