Editing Fairfield County, Connecticut (section)

===Major roads===

====Boston Post Road====
[[U.S. Route 1 in Connecticut|U.S. 1]] is the oldest east–west route in the county, running through all of its shoreline cities and towns. Known by various names along its length, most commonly "[[Boston Post Road]]" or simply "Post Road", it gradually gains latitude from west to east. Thus, U.S. 1 west is officially designated "South" and east is "North".

Though contiguous, U.S. 1 changes name by locality. In Greenwich it is Putnam Avenue. In Stamford, it becomes Main Street or Tresser Boulevard. In Darien, it is Boston Post Road or "the Post Road". In Norwalk, it is Connecticut Avenue in the west, Van Zant St, Cross St, and North Av in the center, and Westport Avenue in the east. In Westport, it is Post Road West from the Norwalk town line until the Saugatuck River, where it becomes Post Road East until Fairfield. In Fairfield, it is again Boston Post Road or "the Post Road". In Bridgeport, it follows Kings Highway in the west, North Avenue in the center, and Boston Avenue in the east. Finally, it becomes Barnum Avenue in Stratford.

====Interstate 95====
The western portions of [[Interstate 95 in Connecticut]] are known as the [[Connecticut Turnpike]] or the Governor John Davis Lodge Turnpike in Fairfield County and it crosses the state approximately parallel to U.S. Route 1. The road is most commonly referred to as "I-95". The highway is six lanes (sometimes eight lanes) throughout the county. It was completed in 1958 and is often clogged with traffic particularly during morning and evening [[rush hour]]s.

With the high cost of land along the Gold Coast, state lawmakers do not consider widening the highway to be fiscally feasible, although occasional stretches between entrances and nearby exits are now sometimes connected with a fourth [http://www.fairfieldcountybusinessjournal.com/archive/011705/011705frop01.html "operational improvement"] lane (for instance, westbound between the Exit 10 interchange in Darien and Exit 8 in Stamford).

====Merritt Parkway====
The [[Merritt Parkway]], also known as "The Merritt" or [[Connecticut Route 15]], is a truck-free scenic parkway that runs through the county parallel and generally several miles north of Interstate 95. It begins at the New York state line, where it is the [[Hutchinson River Parkway]], and terminates on the [[Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Bridge]], where it becomes the [[Wilbur Cross Parkway]] at the New Haven county line.

The interchange between the Merritt Parkway and Route 7 in Norwalk was completed around the year 2000. The project was held up in a lawsuit won by preservationists concerned about the historic Merritt Parkway bridges. It is now exit 39 off the Merritt, and exit 15 off I-95. The parkway is a [[National Scenic Byway]] and is listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nrhp_fairfield">{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/CT/Fairfield/districts.html |title=National Register of Historical Places – CONNECTICUT (CT), Fairfield County |publisher=[[National Park Service]] and [[United States Department of the Interior]] |access-date=June 24, 2008}}</ref>

====Interstate 84====
[[I-84 in Connecticut|Interstate 84]], which runs through Danbury, is scheduled to be widened to a six-lane highway at all points between Danbury and Waterbury. State officials say they hope the widening will not only benefit drivers regularly on the route but also entice some cars from the more crowded Interstate 95, which runs roughly parallel to it. Heavier trucks are unlikely to use Interstate 84 more often, however, because the route is much hillier than I-95 according to a state Department of Transportation official.

====U.S. Route 7====
With its southern terminus at Interstate 95 in central Norwalk, [[U.S. Route 7 in Connecticut|U.S. Route 7]] heads north through Wilton, Ridgefield, Danbury, and Brookfield to points north of the county. The route follows a path that was part of the [[Pre-Columbian era|pre-Columbian]] [[Great Trail]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Madden |first=Richard |date=August 3, 1981 |title=ROAD TO REPAIR IS A LONG ONE FOR A HIGHWAY IN CONNECTICUT |language=en-US |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/08/03/nyregion/road-to-repair-is-a-long-one-for-a-highway-in-connecticut.html |access-date=April 18, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In the 1950s, officials planned to convert all of the route to a four to six lane expressway.<ref name=":0" /> The expressway was constructed in the cities of Danbury and Norwalk, but faced significantly opposition that prevented it from being constructed through the towns in between the two.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Cassidy |first=Martin |date=October 7, 2009 |title=Route 7 expressway unrealistic, leaders say |url=https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/route-7-expressway-unrealistic-leaders-say-163347.php |access-date=April 18, 2023 |website=[[Stamford Advocate]] |language=en-US}}</ref> Plans to construct the expressway, known as "Super 7", have been floated throughout the decades, but have faced vocal opposition, and it has never been constructed.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> In lieu of the expressway, segments of Route 7 in Fairfield County have been widened over the years.<ref name=":1" /> Additionally, the expressway in Danbury has expanded north through Brookfield over the decades.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Perrefort |first=Dirk |date=November 20, 2009 |title=Brookfield Route 7 bypass is open to traffic |url=https://www.newstimes.com/news/article/brookfield-route-7-bypass-is-open-to-traffic-257628.php |access-date=April 18, 2023 |website=[[The News-Times]] |language=en-US}}</ref>

====Connecticut Route 8====
[[Route 8 (Connecticut)|Route 8]] terminates in downtown Bridgeport from I-95 with Connecticut Route 25 and goes north. It splits from Connecticut Route 25 at the Bridgeport—Trumbull town line and continues north into southeastern Trumbull and Shelton, then beyond the county through some of towns of the Naugatuck River Valley to Waterbury and beyond. Construction of the route provided some impetus for the creation of office parks in Shelton and home construction there and in other parts of The Valley.

====Connecticut Route 25====
[[Route 25 (Connecticut)|Route 25]] starts in downtown Bridgeport from I 95 with Route 8 and goes north. It splits from Connecticut Route 8 at the Bridgeport—Trumbull town line and continues into Trumbull. The limited access divided expressway ends in northern Trumbull, but Route 25 continues into Monroe, Newtown, and Brookfield.