WESTPORT–Merritt Parkway motorists headed for Westport will shortly find themselves getting off the road at exit 20 or 21 rather than the ones they’re used to – 41 and 42.

The exits haven’t moved, they are being renumbered by the Connecticut State Department of Transportation (CTDOT) to meet federal standards that most states now follow, including New York, which renumbered the Hutchinson River Parkway, connected to the Merritt, in 2021. CTDOT crews have installed the signs along the 37-mile Merritt Parkway, but have covered them temporarily with black bags.

Workers are now removing the bags to unveil the new numbers, alongside companion signs that will remind motorists what the former designation was in each case. The unveiling began yesterday at the New York State border and is expected to take four weeks, said CTDOT spokesman Joe Cooper.

“We encourage drivers to stay alert during this transition, and we expect minimal disruption,” Cooper said.

State-wide initiative

The change on the Merritt is only one part of a larger project, which will renumber exits on all limited-access highways in the state. The project is expected to continue through 2030. Next up: I-84 and I-95.

The change will match the exits with the mileage along the road. Westport’s exits 20 and 21, for instance, are that many miles from the New York line. Exits within the same mile can be added with letter designations to distinguish them. Exits on the Merritt interchange with Main Avenue in Norwalk, just before Westport for eastbound drivers, will be designated 17A, 17B and 17C.

Easier, safer

The CTDOT website says mileage-based numbering makes it easier for drivers to determine distances to destinations and calculate miles travelled. The website also says the mileage-based system “improves reporting of highway incidents, resulting in better navigation of emergency services,” the site says.

The change may take some getting used to, and also might spark a twinge of nostalgia for exit numbers that people have become accustomed to over the decades, said Matthew Mandell, executive director of the Westport-Weston Chamber of Commerce.

41 and 42: part of the culture

The identity connected with the numbers shows up in certain aspects of the local culture. A Westport community Facebook page is called Exit 18, the town’s exit off Interstate 95. The local folk-rock band Exit 43 was named for a Westport exit on the Merritt that was planned but never built. (The exit after 42 is 44 in Fairfield, which will now become exit 27.) 

“The lost exit 43 will no longer be of consequence,” Mandell said. “That unique situation will pass into the ether.”

Before long, however, people will become accustomed to the new system, he predicted.

“Ultimately I don’t think it will have that much of an effect long term on businesses or even the community,” he said.

Lauren Fabrizi, a spokesperson for AAA Connecticut, said the change underscores the need for motorists to be alert at all times.

“Any time there’s a change, it takes time to adjust,” she said.