Freeways stopped being PRETTY (And that's a shame!)

Рет қаралды 169,028

Күн бұрын

The Merritt Parkway, one of America's first freeways, is more a showcase of landscape architecture than it is traffic engineering. But the Interstate highways built two decades later are ugly by comparison. Why did America give up on art and beauty?
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Book information:
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Radde, B. "The Merritt Parkway". Yale University Press, New Haven, CT, 1993. ISBN 9780300068771
google.com/books/edition/The_...
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Additional reading:
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"Consuming Landscapes: Parkways in Germany and the United States, 1920-1970". Library of Congress, 2008. www.loc.gov/item/2021687921/
Haynes, W. "Bridges of the Merritt Parkway". Essex Library Associaiton, 2021. • Bridges Of The Merritt...
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Time sections:
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Introduction (0:00)
Boston Post Road (0:48)
Parkways of New York (3:01)
Planning the Merritt (5:42)
Landscape Architecture (6:59)
Dunkelberger's Deco (8:38)
Trouble with Tolls (9:50)
Controlled Access (11:41)
Safety (13:47)
Drafted into WW2 (14:31)
Road for Trucks (15:45)
We Chose the Machine (16:38)
Merritt's SPUI (18:39)
Closing Thoughts (19:23)

Пікірлер: 600

@bonecanoe86 Жыл бұрын

I first drove on the Merritt Parkway in 2019 and had no idea about all this until I drove on this. My friend and I were like "Woah, this is the fanciest highway ever". We joked that there were probably cops hiding that would shine a flashlight into your car to make sure you were well-dressed enough to use the road lol.

@kittycomentator282 Жыл бұрын

Haha on the contrary the Merritt is notorious for its lack of policing sic a few exits. But I wouldn’t be surprised if the cops patrolling those exits had their flashlights on

@kazikian Жыл бұрын

@@kittycomentator282that’s why my top speed records are all on this parkway. The moment you enter NY tho, better drive 55!

@PiousMoltar 10 ай бұрын

@@kazikian I wish we had 5mph increments in our speed limits here in the UK. The only time you'll ever see a speed limit ending in 5 is when it's literally 5mph in some car-park or something. Those are very rare though. And my car really doesn't want to go 5mph. But yeah, all our speed limits are in increments of 10. But I often feel like a 25, 35 or 45 limit would be sensible in many places.

@WW-hr1hd 7 ай бұрын

@@PiousMoltar Aren't speed limits in the UK in kilometers per hour (kph)?

@automation7295 3 ай бұрын

@@WW-hr1hd No, UK does use mph.

@bikeenjoyer977 Жыл бұрын

The Post Road story is surprisingly relevant. Everyone complains about how when highways get to downtowns there's too much traffic. Maybe it's because there shouldn't be a highway there lol.

@RoadGuyRob Жыл бұрын

That's the complicated part about the collision between traffic engineering and urban planning. Planners are not wrong that we've done some terrible things to downtown areas. But some really underestimate the value and demand of long distance trips, which have to go someplace.

@travcollier Жыл бұрын

Urbanists trying to bring about nicer walkable places and folks who want more efficient fast traffic roads/highways should really be allies. Each certainly has a place and valuable function.

@AaronTheHarris Жыл бұрын

True but we don't need as much capacity for longer distance trips when there are viable, reasonable alternatives.

@AssBlasster Жыл бұрын

This is why I'm glad my small city has 3-lane one-way roads going around Main St to divert the highway traffic, kind of like a ring road. The road layout also discourages thru traffic on Main St. They also narrow one highway to 2 lane roads when they enter city limits except for a small section of stroad. Perfect balance between allowing a reasonable travel time through our city but still preserving our pleasant, walkable main street.

@stevetalkstoomuch Жыл бұрын

They want to rectify this around Hartford with the Hartford 400 plan, which hopefully will get funded. Opens up the entire downtown and restores the Bulkeley Bridge to local & pedestrian only.

@luigi55125 Жыл бұрын

I ended up on that road by accident one time, and had no idea what it was. At the first bridge I was thinking "wow look at that fancy bridge, looks like it's from the 30s or something". And then there was another one. And another, and another, and another. By that point I finally realized I stumbled into something specific lol.

@RoadGuyRob Жыл бұрын

It's absolutely gorgeous, right? I initially approached the story for the access management concept, but in my research was thrilled when I found out about the art that George Dunkelberger put into the bridges.

@blast_processing-music_disc 10 күн бұрын

Ive been on that parkway too And post road And i -95

@chrispontani6059 Жыл бұрын

The Parkways from Long Island, through NYC, and up into Connecticut are a special breed. I’ve ridden the Merritt many times. The interesting thing is how the rest areas get fuel. Some the trucks enter the parkway the exit before and leave the exit after. One of them has tanks only on one side of the parkway and pipes run to the pumps on the other side. One receives fuel deliveries from a side street off the parkway, and if I remember correctly, they back up the hill to behind the service area to where the fills are.

@holidaytracker Жыл бұрын

I never knew about the fuel but recently I figured out a secret entrance/exit to the parkway from one the rest stops

@deanchapman1824 11 ай бұрын

Taconic Parkway as well.

@chrispontani7637 11 ай бұрын

@@phillipbanes5484 Clearly you aren't a local. When locals say Long Island, they refer to Nassau and Suffolk Counties, which are not part of New York City proper. I have a hunch you're referring to Brooklyn and Queens, which are part of NYC, and while technically on the piece of land called Long Island, NOBODY in New York ever says Brooklyn and Queens are on Long Island.

@chrispontani6059 11 ай бұрын

@@phillipbanes5484 people like you, sir, are one of the many reasons I moved away.

@Ron2600_ 5 ай бұрын

@@holidaytrackerI know which one you're talking about.

@rwboa22 Жыл бұрын

The first TRUE superhighway (which allows both automobiles AND trucks) will always be the Pennsylvania Turnpike (opened in 1940), which was in essence an Autobahn-based roadway designed to bypass treacherous stretches of the Lincoln Highway (US Route 30), especially the portion that had to traverse the Allegheny Ridge.

@garrettkajmowicz Жыл бұрын

They've done a lot of construction more recently on that section of US-30 and despite all of the improvements it's still not a comfortable road to drive.

@Roadtripmik 11 ай бұрын

Pennsylvania>Connecticut

@TheHamburgler123 Жыл бұрын

The Merritt Parkway is a refreshing change of pace over the normal interstate experience. The on and off ramps are atypical if you're not used to driving in New England, though. You have get up to speed and merge fast on those approaches! Way different than the roads out west, that's for sure.

@chasbodaniels1744 Жыл бұрын

Agreed 💯. Underpowered cars and folks with zero sense of merging etiquette are a huge hazard. Some entrance ramps have newer decently-long acceleration ramps, but others still do not. Too many Parkway hotshots simply floor it and seize the right of way, letting drivers in both travel lanes brake and grit their teeth.

@TimothyStuder Жыл бұрын

Yep if you're in New England we expect you to merge going at least 60. If you're too slow, good luck merging.

@chasbodaniels1744 Жыл бұрын

@@TimothyStuder Not disagreeing, but the *refusal* of most on-rampers to hold back slightly (when needed) to make a smooth merge is insane to me. Offenders see their task as PASSING existing cars in the right lane to force their way in.

@supercellex4D 10 ай бұрын

@@TimothyStuder I'm in Texas and I merge at fucking 85 in some situations, it's not just you bruv

@BillCraven 10 ай бұрын

The Pasadena Freeway, now officially again the Arroyo Seco Parkway, says hi with its 90 degree, 5 mph, on ramps. And the entrances to the lower deck of I-35 in Austin and some of the older highways in Texas are quite exciting.

@BeansRUs Жыл бұрын

ayyo, real insomniac hours

@RoadGuyRob Жыл бұрын

"Gotta make hay while the sun shines..." Or some "night owl" version of that.

@petermorse1331 Жыл бұрын

@@RoadGuyRobu

@commentor3485 Жыл бұрын

@@RoadGuyRobgotta stay out of the sun to prevent skin cancer

@SWVARP 11 ай бұрын

@@RoadGuyRobbro just said a nostalgic ringtone 💀

@SineN0mine3 8 ай бұрын

@@SWVARP??

@zoicon5 Жыл бұрын

Back when I lived in CT I remember having a conversation with an older gentleman who told me how long it used to take to drive into NYC on the post road. I remember him saying that the worst thing was that you'd get stuck behind a streetcar which would be constantly stopping.

@aleomedia 2 ай бұрын

Crazy how Rob was standing only a few bridges away from the Fairfield Ave. bridge in Norwalk that got destroyed by a tanker truck fire! As of May 2024, officials are expecting the bridge to not be rebuilt and finished for over a year!

@suzuplaza Жыл бұрын

as someone who grew up in Connecticut i thought this was normal only until i moved west did i learn all highways were so awful looking

@RoadGuyRob Жыл бұрын

We prefer "functional" LOL Seriously though, I do appreciate that some states out west like Texas, Arizona, Utah are trying to dress up some of the bridges and make them look nice. While they don't qualify as art projects like the Merritt parkway, at least it makes the bridge more attractive.

@R4baDader Жыл бұрын

We need a deeper dive into Robert Moses and his impact on the highway system as a whole

@RoadGuyRob Жыл бұрын

He's definitely a fascinating figure who did some great and terrible things for the City of New York. Urban planners to see him as an absolute monster. And some of his ideas for other cities certainly were not great. But I also know he built some pretty solid parks and roads. A complicated figure.

@hwyfan Жыл бұрын

Robert Moses built a dozen major bridges and 627 miles of parkways and roadways. The number of miles of road built by planners who succeeded Moses - 7.

@wrightmf 8 ай бұрын

It's been said Moses took the NYC subway system originally was the best subway system and made it the worst subway system.

@Vodhin Жыл бұрын

My father would drive us from Long Island to Vermont for weekend ski trips when I was growing up in the 1970's and 80's. We'd take the Hutchison River Parkway up to 684 to 84, and then 91, getting off somewhere along the Hutch to avoid a 25 cent toll. He did this well into the 90's, long after the toll booths had been removed.

@RoadGuyRob Жыл бұрын

So, the newspaper archive wasn't wrong! People really would wind around through the countryside to get around those toll booths. 😆

@Vodhin Жыл бұрын

@@RoadGuyRob Yes, and somewhere along the bypass route you needed to make a U-turn, which was illegal, but there was someone - a dentist, I think - who had a horseshoe driveway on a corner lot just past where you would get back on. Poor guy had to put chains up at the end of his driveway to keep people from using it for that turn around.

@NJRoadfan 9 ай бұрын

@@RoadGuyRob Nothing like a scenic shunpike or two to save a few dollars. Common enough that there is a word for it dating back to the 1800s.... and the old routes are called "Shunpike Rd" long after the tolls disappeared.

@ryanviveiros5992 Жыл бұрын

I've been on the Merritt Parkway half a dozen times. It's a really nice drive.

@counterfit5 Жыл бұрын

My first time driving it was at night, with some rain. That was *not fun*

@capecodcorporate Жыл бұрын

People drive like bozos, not a fan

@hamentaschen Жыл бұрын

Dude. LOVE your content. Love how it's all presented. I love how thought out your presentations always are. You are seriously good at this. Anyway, thanks.

@RoadGuyRob Жыл бұрын

At the risk of sounding like a pitch man: it really comes down to the great people who contribute on patreon. They give me a stable source of funding, so I can slow down and really be thorough rather than trying to chase the KZfaq algorithm which would want me to post junk one to two times a week.

@kazikian Жыл бұрын

Seconded 100%

@McNasty_0 Жыл бұрын

I've never appreciated the art/nature of the Merritt Parkway the hundreds of times I've driven on it, I'll make sure to definitely take a better look next time! I just typically avoid Route 15 because so many Massachusetts/NY/NJ drivers are rerouted that way for through traffic and its just so congested all the time.

@MonkeyJedi99 Жыл бұрын

Imagine being so classist that you deliberately design a roadway of convenience to specifically exclude the lesser people. (edit: I'm speaking of the New York road project) Some HOA boards are envious of that kind of exclusionary principle.

@DashCamOutEast Жыл бұрын

Being a New Jersey driver myself, I want to take exception to your comment, but I know it's true 😂 I've been on the Merritt Parkway a few times and quite enjoyed it, but the NY and NJ drivers did make it less fun 😂

@ProfessionalDumbass420 Жыл бұрын

@@MonkeyJedi99 I mean that was the 1930s/40s/50s, when racism was kind of a package deal with new york...

@SnownelVEVO Жыл бұрын

The Merritt is the fastest way between NJ/NYC and Boston. Until it isn't, which is... usually only once you're already on it.

@the.abhiram.r 2 ай бұрын

i remember driving to Boston once during covid and the merritt was EMPTY it was surreal

@electronaut3263 Жыл бұрын

Ah, but this b-roll missed the joys of bumper-to-bumper traffic on the parkway at 8:20am every weekday. 😉 Seriously though thanks for the interesting history lesson! If you’re ever back in the area, a couple of the old toll booths are on display at a park in Stratford.

@RoadGuyRob Жыл бұрын

Yeah, I found out about the toll booths after I caught my plane back west. Would love to have filmed those!

@VillainOfBrandon Жыл бұрын

My interest in road infrastructure is nearly zero, and yet when Rob posts a video I watch it, and am interested in the content.

@RoadGuyRob Жыл бұрын

Wow, thank you! I'm so happy to hear that 👍

@dorianmorrell2725 Жыл бұрын

The teacher makes the interest; the passion makes the teacher. We've all had bored, uninspired professors. It doesn't matter what such a man teaches, it will be boring. Then there's this breath of fresh air, RGR; who, I'm sure, could make anything interesting.

@jimgorycki4013 Жыл бұрын

I lived in Queens from 1959 to 1972. I remember the Belt Parkway system. My Father would take us on trips to Long Island. This was before 495 was completed. I also remember taking rides with my grandma to Staten Island to visit her parents. Robert Moses and his parkway systems has its plus and minuses. True he didn't want commercial -- and buses on the parkway. Plus where the parkways went tore down and even divided neighborhoods.

@rhxz6929 Жыл бұрын

Thank you Rob for blessing us with yet another masterpiece, keep it up man we will be here for it

@RoadGuyRob Жыл бұрын

Will do!

@TreyMo69 Жыл бұрын

"Out of my way, New York couch coming through!" 😂😂

@RoadGuyRob Жыл бұрын

I can't do accents. So I had to watch several Brooklyn accent KZfaq videos to tape that. Glad you enjoyed it!

@jrjr648 6 ай бұрын

That was so good tho

@legatus9081 Жыл бұрын

It's become my guilty pleasure to sit in my car eating a hamburger and watching your videos

@RoadGuyRob Жыл бұрын

I do that too! LOL

@ErinS06 Жыл бұрын

I remember a couple summers ago coming back to my grandparent's in NJ after a road trip that took me through NY, VT, and New Hampshire. My family took the Merritt through CT instead of 95, and while traffic was horrible (Friday afternoon in the NY Metro Area in the summer, not a great mix), One thing that stood out was all of the art-deco bridges. This video makes me appreciate this road more than I ever would have though, and I never really gave it too much thought until now

@A_barrel Жыл бұрын

Why is there no non lettered / universal sign standard for "cross traffic does not stop"? it seems like such a critical sign but sometimes you're lucky if there even is one

@clarencetaylor7455 Жыл бұрын

In Europe there is the priority road sign a yellow diamond inlaid into a white diamond

@Croz89 Жыл бұрын

Putting yield or stop signs on the road cross traffic is crossing does the job. You can add priority signs on the other road if you wish, but it's not required, as some countries basically have the rule that you can assume you have priority unless a sign indicates otherwise or you're performing a common maneuver where it is specified in the highway code/road rules.

@robo1p Жыл бұрын

"cross traffic does not stop" is really only needed because of 4/3-way stops (where cross traffic does stop), which is quite uncommon abroad. And lettered signs are _okay_ in MUTCD derived countries

@Wasabi9111 Жыл бұрын

This is my area and I love the Merritt (except for the traffic). Thanks for the interesting history lesson.

@leah5580 Жыл бұрын

Petition to create a winter-ized Road Guy Rob costume so Rob can talk about roads and be warm and cozy.

@Jennyofthesky Жыл бұрын

OMG I GO TO COLLEGE IN CT!! I CANT BELIEVE I MISSED THE ROAD GUY edit: i drive on the merritt ALL THE TIME to go to clinical locations and such. i had no idea it had such an amazing history! I did always love those bridges though.

@RoadGuyRob Жыл бұрын

I caught covid on that trip, so it was probably a good time to miss me lol

@stevetalkstoomuch Жыл бұрын

Glad to see someone finally appreciate and explain the Merritt Parkway and the parkways systems. In the Midwest no one believes me when I describe them. I always heard growing up in CT that every single bridge had a different design, no two were the same. Until modern intersections were built, like at Routes 7, 25, and 8. It's also supposed to have the widest right of way of any road - 300 feet wide in total with the road taking up 100 feet. I believe the road was declared to be a National Historic Site, which prevents future widening. They also had picnic areas along the route in some places, which were designed like mini rest areas. These are long gone but you can still see some remnants of asphalt and wood guard rail posts in the woods... One was in Orange or Milford I believe. You can also call us Nutmeggers instead of Connecticuters. Very rare to hear that term anymore.

@henshawsm Жыл бұрын

Shortly after The interchange opened up I got rear ended well trying to merge northbound on to the parkway...

@samgreaves Жыл бұрын

First video ive seen of yours and its brilliant! You just cannot fake passion like this, more humans need to get excited about little niche nuggets of history!

@DJParticle Жыл бұрын

Ever since I first traveled the Merritt back in 1981 as a kid in the family car, I’ve been in love with this road. Even to this day, when I drive toward that area from the Cuomo Bridge, I get off 287 at the Hutch and take the Merritt for its full length. It’s my fave freeway, just beating out I-86/Rte 17 in NY

@zoicon5 Жыл бұрын

I love 17. The Merritt is okay if your idea of a good time is being tailgated by Audis and BMWs.

@DJParticle Жыл бұрын

@@zoicon5 - I'm originally from Cape Cod. I'm used to it. Also, I actually tend to call the whole stretch from I-90 in PA to the Thruway "I-86" even though not all of it is officially an interstate yet. I've actually been living in MN for the last 25 years, but every once in a blue moon I come back east. :)

@intrepidfox37 Жыл бұрын

Tappan Zee bridge! Cuomo...blech

@DJParticle Жыл бұрын

@@intrepidfox37 - Um... the TZ was demolished. 🤔

@jonathankleinow2073 Жыл бұрын

There was another Art Deco highway that doesn't get mentioned too often: The old Highway 40 / Daniel Boone Expressway / Red Feather Express Highway in St. Louis. There were many artfully designed bridges running from Vandeventer Avenue in the city to Spoede Road in the county. That whole section of freeway was rebuilt to modern standards in the late 2000s by MoDOT. I swear MoDOT used to have an archive of historic photos as part of their website for The New I-64, but I can't find them now.

@mitchellschwartz6766 Жыл бұрын

As a New Yorker, I take the Merritt whenever I go through Connecticut - it is a true work of art! Thank you for the outstanding video, I hope you will consider doing one on Long Island’s parkway system next!

@eaglescout1984 Жыл бұрын

This is the first video of yours that I've seen you on the east coast. I'm glad you dressed for the occasion with that I-95 hat, the undisputed king of east coast highways. I'd love to see you analyze some more east coast oddities. The Chesapeake bay bridge-tunnel, the sections of I-95 and I-80 that go through New York City, or the Blue Ridge Parkway. Oh, and the typical east coast term for a SPUI is single-point diamond. We like using "diamond" in our interchange names.

@jets_mets Жыл бұрын

As someone from CT to me there is nothing really special about that road other than its really old. However over time and watching this video ive now learned how truly unique this road really is. I used to live off exit 48 Main Street and I remember the old bridge.

@georgedquinn9315 Жыл бұрын

Thank you for making this video. My dad always said his uncles and aunts would tell him to take the merrit parkway to avoid I-95. When traveling from NJ to New England. It's such a beautiful drive and surprisingly scenic for a highway. Love your videos ❤

@georgedquinn9315 Жыл бұрын

Just subscribed!!!

@MichaelJM Жыл бұрын

The quality of your videos is seriously top notch. All the work you put into these really shines through and I love it. So glad you're able to keep making them.

@Lkendrick Жыл бұрын

My first memory of driving the Merrit Parkway was when my stepmom accidentally took a Uhaul truck onto it, and basically had to split the lanes just to fit under the bridges lol

@dabluemonsta2422 Жыл бұрын

I love the Merritt parkway but some on ramps are scary. It’s quite literally a stop sign 10 feet away from the road, without a merge lane. Fortunately most aren’t like that

@JeffRozanVideos 5 ай бұрын

As someone who lived 5 years on bronx blvd right off the bronx river parkway off the gun hill road exit. I would walk along the river the newer park even got some recent upgrades in 2021 and walking to the pedestrian bridge to the hidden exit of Rockefeller's and jp Morgan's and Carnegies botanical garden. This Video was so well done thank you so much specially someone who grew up in broward county where i95 south is the madmax fury road it really put the hutch into perspective really well

@wilsden Жыл бұрын

it's 55mph speed limit but the REAL speed limit is 80

@invictus_1245 Жыл бұрын

You mean 15 with how bad traffic can get lmao

@Oduck22 Жыл бұрын

0:20 Reminds me how beautiful a Highway can be. Like California 163 begins in San Diego winding through Balboa Park. Only a few miles worth before typical California takes over😅

@RoadGuyRob Жыл бұрын

Oh my gosh, yes! I'd love to learn more about the history of that freeway.

@ValPendergast Жыл бұрын

when i would drive back and forth from college in Hartford, i loooooved taking the Merritt. that road is so beautiful in the fall and the curves make it so fun to drive. the no truck rule makes it the fastest route by far, normally it would take something like 2 1/2 hours with no traffic but my record on the Merritt was 1:58 lol. learning the history of the Pennsylvania Turnpike is pretty depressing, i wonder what an interstate inspired by the Merritt Parkway would look like. next time i drive through Connecticut i will salute every low bridge.

@subynut Жыл бұрын

That was a really cool history lesson! Thanks for doing this! I'm an Arizona desert rat and haven't driven any further east than New Mexico and Colorado. If I'm ever out there, I'll have to check out that parkway!

@BramCohen Жыл бұрын

Those 'roads leading to the Golden Gate Bridge' is known as 101 here in Marin. It is a very scenic drive in this section. It never occurred to me that that might be because it was built so early when people still cared about making freeways scenic

@ArtamStudio 7 ай бұрын

Just south of San Francisco is Daly City. When I-280 from SF to San Jose opened in the early 1960s, a sign was posted somewhere on it in Daly City that read "World's Most Beautiful Freeway." According to Wikipedia this sign still exists, but I honestly don't remember seeing it for decades.

@Rocketsong 6 ай бұрын

@@phillipbanes5484 The approach to the Golden Gate Bridge goes through Golden Gate Park so... Out west a parkway is normally an at-grade street with all the traffic lights synchronized. I wouldn't expect it to be freeway or highway like.

@kthanna08 28 күн бұрын

I was scrolling through KZfaq and I was like “that looks like the signs on the Merritt.” I grew up in CT and drive back from Florida every year. I always take the Merritt to avoid 95 through NYC. Lots of cool info!

@daniel_wilkinson Жыл бұрын

My favorite is the Saw Mill River Parkway. Quite an exciting drive, at times. This was back before I-91 and I-84 actually had an interchange in Hartford and the original Tappan Zee Bridge was still in use.

@derbagger22 Жыл бұрын

The Merritt is my favorite highway. Swerving, rolling and always entertaining. For the long drive from Boston to NYC, it keeps me entertained. And once you get down to Trumbull, those 45mph curves are challenging to take at 70 and keep your client undisturbed in the back seat...

@marcberm Жыл бұрын

15:20 "Dude! Yer gettin' a YELL!"

@RoadGuyRob Жыл бұрын

Yay! You found the Easter egg

@jimmock1155 11 ай бұрын

Hey Road Guy Rob! You mentioned the attempt to get trucks through areas of congestion with less congestion. As a truck driver of 47 years could you try to explain to us why, when going through cities that have three lanes in one direction, trucks aren’t allowed to use the left lane. The trucks are simply trying to get through this city and instead of being in the left lane where they could flow right through, and everyone else could do their entrance and exits freely, the powers that be insist that the trucks are not allowed in the left lane and thus they are always interacting with traffic getting on and off the highway. It causes more accidents. It causes more congestion. Maybe you could get us the answer to this universal problem! Please?

@PaulAthanasiou 10 күн бұрын

I wish we could beautify America's highways. I hate driving on I-95 and seeing the destruction it caused to be built. A wooded median would be a nice start. Great video!

@RandallKayfes Жыл бұрын

Beautiful architecture on this Parkway - So in Arizona you will find so many over/under passes that are architecturally different including painted concrete colors. In contrast Oregon has unpainted modern but zeroxed architecture . Do some states like Arizona have legislative requirements for beauty in their designs? If so which states do? ON Interstate 19 in Tucson you will find a beautiful deep blue on slate colored concrete walls and bridges, on I10 you will find history on the bridges, in Oro Valley it's historical ranch branding iron designs, etc.

@MikeV8652 Жыл бұрын

Texas does this on its newer highway interchanges and Interstate rebuilds. Over/underpasses are often adorned with locally relevant motifs, and urban through projects have a common theme through a city.

@kenbrown2808 Жыл бұрын

Oregon has a lot of copy/pasted bridge designs, but since the 80s, there has been a law that a percentage of the cost of public building projects must be spent on art installations, and that's been expanded to include road projects, so you will see art on the newer road works.

@aaronholcomb237 7 ай бұрын

Oklahoma does this in some areas. Many new bridges on interstates have decor on them such as the emblem on the state flag. Some retaining walls along the side of interstates have some artwork in earthy tones.

@leevaniderstine4507 Жыл бұрын

I grew up in Fairfield County Connecticut and have been driving the Merritt Parkway since 1979. My Grandmother worked in the Fairfield Historical Society (Fairfield, CT) and claimed that the design of every bridge went to a different civil engineer in order to employ more people during the great depression, that is why each one has a different design. I didn't know that there was a book about the Parkway that contradicts her.

@Shadowfax-1980 Жыл бұрын

This is one of the only transportation planning channel that doesn’t browbeat viewers about how evil cars are.

@SomeGuyWhoPlaysGames333 7 ай бұрын

Cars are machines. They’re not capable of being “evil.”

@scooter1737 Жыл бұрын

As someone who's been driving that road for the last 25 years (sometimes daily), it was nice to hear something I didn't know about the road. Also the Trumbull mall Bridge redo is 20 years old feels like they just finished it

@SinisterSpatula Жыл бұрын

Why do we drive on a parkway and park on a driveway? Love your videos. :)

@RoadGuyRob Жыл бұрын

Evidently, because the state of New York decided to call the Bronx River parkway a parkway, because it was a park, but it also happened to have a road next to it that they named after the park, so that's why we drive on parkways? Honestly, it's a good question.

@stevenjlovelace Жыл бұрын

To keep standup comedians employed.

@bagenstb Жыл бұрын

I *love* the Merritt Parkway. When I used to semi-regularly drive between Boston and Philadelphia, I'd take this road even if the navigation app said I-95 was quicker. There really is nothing like it.

@itsnotme07 Жыл бұрын

Very cool stuff Rob! Having driven the Merritt, and the Saw Mill, and Taconic, as well as a whole lot of that Boston Post Road.....I'm pretty familiar with "using" them, but learning the history stuff is also cool and one of the reasons I'm subscribed. Keep on eating the profits! Assuming there are profits? LOL

@ddki9094 Жыл бұрын

Another stellar one RRR! You have a gift to break the complicated down into something that is palatable and interesting at the same time - not easy to do. Now, you make me want to drive this road. I bet it is quite scenic in the autumn.

@Nedsonland Жыл бұрын

As much as I love doing this drive, every time I see a a CT license plate I keep some distance 😂 truly unpredictable drivers.

@MikeV8652 Жыл бұрын

I've always wondered why the designers of the Interstate highways back in the 1950s repeated the mistake of the post roads by running them through or next to the downtown cores of most major cities. They should have bypassed all major cities and had spurs into them. Why did they think that cross-country truck and auto traffic needed to go downtown in all major metros on the way?

@kenbrown2808 Жыл бұрын

in many cases, it's the same as the cause of Stroads. the road builders build their road outside of town, and the town builders expand the town around the road. in some cases, it's because the town was built around the only route a road can logistically follow. in my own town, there is just no route a bypass could take without devastating a significant part of the terrain.

@stevengordon3271 Жыл бұрын

@@kenbrown2808 In other words, cheap land with slums and warehouses were downtown.

@kenbrown2808 Жыл бұрын

@@stevengordon3271 no. in other words, the only land that is horizontal is where the original road went. I mean sure, they would rather buy cheap real estate, but it's a lot more expensive to build a road if you don't have any level ground.

@Rocketsong 6 ай бұрын

The Interstate System is part of the National Defense structures of the United States. It has to be that way, because it's not constitutional for the Federal Government to build roads. So, technically, commerce is a byproduct of the interstate system. It's primary justification is national defense and nuclear preparedness. That includes evacuating cities in case of nuclear attack.

@HHSGDFootballJPD 6 ай бұрын

Some cities were afraid that with the automobile becoming the way to get around, you'd either accommodate the car or watch your city die to its suburbs.

@Skogsmard Жыл бұрын

Is there any chance for a NJ jughandle video in the near future (since you seem to have gone to the east coast to film anyway)?

@RoadGuyRob Жыл бұрын

Yes. Next time I go back east I definitely will.

@Mentally_Will Жыл бұрын

@@RoadGuyRob Suburban Detroit has a very similar concept, as I was surprised to find

@triadrailfanproductions Жыл бұрын

THE KING THE LEGEND IS BACK! ROAD GUY ROB! 🎉 We missed ya! 😊

@andreaswilliams8415 Жыл бұрын

I'm from the west coast, but spent some time back east driving this road in 2008. Thank you for the history lesson. It was a special little road, and definitely preferable to I-95. Keep up the great work

@christopherrice2098 6 ай бұрын

Amazing content as always, really happy to see this one as I did a recent work trip in Connecticut for the first time and was remarking to myself how different this road was than any other I’ve traveled and I couldn’t articulate it and then boom this video hits my feed! Love it, thank you!

@nbecnbec 11 ай бұрын

So exciting to see an east coast video from you! Roads really are different here than out west in really interesting ways.

@microcolonel Жыл бұрын

Native plants are a staple of long stretches of interstate in Colorado and Wyoming... but it looks less structurally impressive since the interstates are largely through grassland lol.

@geoall9182 11 ай бұрын

Hi Rob, I loved this video!!! 😁Probably your best! Thanks for posting this 🚗🚙🚅

@BurchBruno 10 ай бұрын

Wow, the production quality of this video is top-notch. Great job!

@ceomg 6 ай бұрын

You’re telling me I’ve been driving on the first and prettiest freeway in America and I DIDNT KNOW?!? Now I appreciate the merit much, much more.

@shartnockers 8 ай бұрын

I have lived next to the Merritt my whole life, the history has always fascinated me, I'm always grateful of the people who take the time to photographically document history. I've seen that book around stores in CT, maybe it's about time to pick one up. Thanks for the great video, as always, Rob!

@jimboburgess42069 Жыл бұрын

Awesome video, love the history!

@GringoJan Жыл бұрын

Good explaining, nice entertaining.

@RoadGuyRob Жыл бұрын

Thanks! 😃

@ilcarabiniere797 6 ай бұрын

Took that highway down from Meriden to New Haven and Bridgeport for years. My favorite parts are when you get on going south from 91, you can see Sleeping Giant State Park in the distance; going over the Housatonic in Milford; and when you get off 15 to get onto 91, it drops you into this valley where you can see Powder Ridge & Mount Higby.

@bushkies Жыл бұрын

ive been watching your vids for a couple years now, rob. always love them, and i absolutely love the parkways in the northeast. every time i drive up the taconic state parkway in ny (which gets a lot of hate from a lot of people) i can't help but smile at the beauty in every direction :)

@rushrush1209 7 ай бұрын

I preferred the Taconic over the NYS Thruway. At least in the summer, one way you knew you drove the Taconic was to look at your windshield. A lot more bugs in your windshield with the Taconic. Also at night, you had to be careful about deer on the Taconic. But you save a lot of money with tolls.

@InternetKilledTV21 Жыл бұрын

The parkways are a treat, especially in fall I will almost always drive the Taconic to New York instead of the thruway

@gordonreeder3451 7 ай бұрын

Cool! Good to see my home state featured in a video. I lived and worked in southern Connecticut for many years. Yup, I drove all those roads that you mentioned. The Merritt, Hutch, Wilbur Cross, I-95 of course. And even Rt-1 which is the designation for the old Boston Post Rd. It's a favorite way to get around traffic jams on I-95.

@CalCapone3 Жыл бұрын

As is tradition I like and comment every Road Guy Rob video to help him with the algorithm.

@CommeLePapillon Жыл бұрын

Lol @ the computer being ‘Yell’ instead of Dell. 😂😂😂 Great vid as always Rob!!

@keff5984 Жыл бұрын

I haven't had to regularly drive on the merritt in a while, but it was always, and still is, my favorite parkway or highway. Although the taconic is also pretty nice, and made for the scenery. Also the 55 mph is kind of funny because everybody drives at least 80 down the merit

@RoadGuyRob Жыл бұрын

(Admission) As did I. It's actually kind of fun to drive at higher speed. Side note, I thought Californians drove fast. And then I visited Boston.

@chris-hayes Жыл бұрын

It's a little bit of a culture shock to then hear about like Australia where they are super strict about speed limits, and it's generally accepted by the public.

@kmorris9098 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for covering this! As a fellow CT resident coming from the east side of the state, we have to use the Merritt Parkway almost exclusively if we want to get through New York City to get to the George Washington Bridge. 95 is usually grid locked by then.

@richh650 7 ай бұрын

I absolutely loved your video as the history you provided was beyond great! Thank you for sharing!

@steventurner820 Жыл бұрын

One fun fact is a former Governor of Maine decided to go on a road trip after he left office and one of the first things he did was try to take an RV down the Merritt. Had to pull off quick to avoid losing his roof haha. Always like to go down this one with all of the classic bridges and trees

@Dwafiz Жыл бұрын

Great to learn more about this! It's fascinating to me that, with all these congestion and freight problems, the railroad industry didn't swoop in and compete with the new personal vehicle industry. Need to get a lot of people quickly bypassing the Post Road between NYC and Boston without having to buy up a ton of land? Build a separated-grade railroad and crank its capacity. Need to ship things and travel as quickly as possible from Pittsburg to Philadelphia? Trains, baby. Not everyone could afford a car, and the railroads should have lobbied the government for funding under that argument. Any history peeps here to explain why this didn't happen?

@PrograError Жыл бұрын

maybe cos they didn't bother?

@AlphabetSoupABC Жыл бұрын

The railroads were the most heavily regulated and publicly scrutinized corporations in the country at the time. They would not have gotten far lobbying the government for subsidies. The railroads essentially had their hands tied behind their backs competing an unregulated and highly subsidized trucking industry. Once the Depression hit, there was no chance that any railroad would have the funds for major upgrades.

@treyhazard7318 Жыл бұрын

As a Connecticut resident I was so excited to see you made this video!

@lukehorning3404 10 ай бұрын

Wow I never knew that it had such a story and I will make it a point to really look at it next time Thanks for another great video

@stevenjlovelace Жыл бұрын

Reminds me of the Arroyo Seco Parkway (formally the Pasadena Freeway) in LA. Fun road to drive on, but definitely not up to modern freeway standards.

@OJ_36 7 ай бұрын

So glad you could visit near my birthplace in Connecticut. The Merritt is a treasure and I'm hoping I can finally drive on it when I go back up there from Florida.

@sarahburns600 Жыл бұрын

YOU CAME TO CONNECTICUT I'M SO EXCITED I just wish I bumped into you!! My 8 year old son and I love your videos 😎

@straight_to_finish Жыл бұрын

Those stone bridges share a striking resemblance to the ones in Acadia National Park-here in my home state of Maine. The park loop road would be a fantastic topic to cover on a future video! 8 years ago I moved my mom back to Maine from Virginia. I booked a one way flight there, loaded all of her possessions in a small U-Haul box truck and drove north. The GPS routed me through the Merritt Parkway and to my surprise, the truck cleared the bridges! (I had an oh #%^* moment passing under that first overpass!) With only 2 stops for food/fuel/restroom, the trip took a little over 10 hours.

@chris-hayes Жыл бұрын

It's out! I've been looking forward to this! 😁 Edit: Finished the video. Appreciate how much detail you included and all the fun editing! Despite living in Meriden, I didn't know much of this history, thank you! (Also did not realize those were actually steel bridges! 😂)

@nateryan110 Жыл бұрын

Another great video, Rob. Thank you!

@yourLocalSentientThing Жыл бұрын

"...and that's only possible thanks to you and your generous contribution at Patreon... where I eat the profits... to stay alive" I'm just imagining Rob eating dollar bills out of a bag while Netflix and chilling bahshshshs 😭😭

@RoadGuyRob Жыл бұрын

I turn them into Del Taco first. 😅 🌮

@mikewheeler9011 Жыл бұрын

AI seinfeld about old traffic was something i didnt know i needed

@franciscoruiz7389 Жыл бұрын

Another home run video Rob!

@kstricl Жыл бұрын

Definitely a location I would love to visit someday. Up north of the border in BC, Canada is the Coquihalla - it's almost a hybrid of the Merritt Parkway and the more basic Interstates. Down towards the coast approaching Vancouver it is an absolutely gorgeous drive. Coincidentally, it goes past Merritt, BC.

@chicagodog3171 Жыл бұрын

15:44 Someone getting pulled over? Also thanks for featuring my comment on your horizontal traffic lights video!

@razorswc Жыл бұрын

You're the only channel I watch the ads for 👍

@davidgeer430 11 ай бұрын

2014 My fam and i took a trip from South Carolina to Boston, Merritt Parkway popped up as route to get us there… it was definitely worth the drive!

@funkmon Жыл бұрын

I remember driving on that road and feeling that it was a beautiful drive for what it was

@henshawsm Жыл бұрын

He Rob, So glad you made it to my lovely state, Too bad it wasn't 2003 because you would have gotten to drive across the then steel grid deck Sikorsky bridge. If you want to see one of the old log cabin tolls there is a section of the Milford tolls on display at the Boothe Memorial Park in Stratford. I sometimes sit right right under the canopy and have my lunch on my lunch hour. The Greenwich toll plaza is/was at a museum in Michigan. Also, a couple of bridges were destroyed when they forced through the route 8 And 25 interchanges in the early 80s.