Traveling the Merritt Parkway, CT

Rating:
Summary: A Rolling Tribute
Review: How many of us know the origin of the roads we travel everyday? How many care? Most roads and highways today are boring, sterile paths that take us from point A to point B. There was at least one thruway that was designed for the motorist to enjoy - the Merritt Parkway. As we learn in Travelling the Merritt Parkway by Larry Learned, great thought and effort went into the design of the road and it's many Art Deco theme bridges. I've commuted on the Merritt for over 12 years and always wondered about the story behind the bridges. The book includes many original photographs showing the various stages of construction and how it looked when completed in 1938. There have been many changes over the years such as the landscape and the addition of guardrails, but the bridges remain unchanged. I found it interesting that the road was engineered to be driven at a speed less than 50 miles per hour so that the motorist could take in all the visual beauty. Today motorists are more concerned with arriving at their destination as soon as possible and cars often exceed 70 miles per hour - too fast to appreciate the intricate detail of the bridge fascia or its railings. I recommend this book to anyone interested in road or bridge construction as well as the New England motorists who travel it.

Rating:
Summary: A Rolling Tribute
Review: How many of us know the origin of the roads we travel everyday? How many care? Most roads and highways today are boring, sterile paths that take us from point A to point B. There was at least one thruway that was designed for the motorist to enjoy - the Merritt Parkway. As we learn in Travelling the Merritt Parkway by Larry Learned, great thought and effort went into the design of the road and it's many Art Deco theme bridges. I've commuted on the Merritt for over 12 years and always wondered about the story behind the bridges. The book includes many original photographs showing the various stages of construction and how it looked when completed in 1938. There have been many changes over the years such as the landscape and the addition of guardrails, but the bridges remain unchanged. I found it interesting that the road was engineered to be driven at a speed less than 50 miles per hour so that the motorist could take in all the visual beauty. Today motorists are more concerned with arriving at their destination as soon as possible and cars often exceed 70 miles per hour - too fast to appreciate the intricate detail of the bridge fascia or its railings. I recommend this book to anyone interested in road or bridge construction as well as the New England motorists who travel it.