Merritt Parkway looking more brown than green

NEW CANAAN — A stretch of brown landscape that should be green this time of year on the Merritt Parkway between New Canaan and Norwalk will improve after more construction in the area wraps up, according to a conservancy group.

The construction, which began this summer between Exit 37 in New Canaan and Exit 40A in Norwalk, includes safety improvements, bridge work and pavement reconstruction, according to the state Department of Transportation.

Officials with the Merritt Parkway Conservancy, a

Stamford-based nonprofit dedicated to stewardship of the parkway, alerted residents to the work recently, as the shoulders of the road had prompted the removal of some mature trees.

“The roadside plantings look pretty bad right now,” Executive Director Wes Haynes said in a statement. “But when the project is finished and the new plants are in, we’ll have a better, safer parkway looking as beautiful as its designers first intended.”

Officials said new canopy and understory trees will be planted next year once the shoulder regrading work has been completed on the parkway, which is also known as Route 15.

“As guardians of the flora and aesthetics of the Parkway, the conservancy wants everyone to understand what’s happening,” Haynes said.

Shannon King, deputy communications manager with the Department of Transportation, said in an email that planned safety improvements include adding four feet of pavement and a reinforced grass area to the roadway and replacing existing guide rails with steelbacked timber railing. There are also drainage improvements, including cross-slope corrections and resurfacing, to “ensure the roadway remains in a state of good repair.”