Ich Bin Ein Berliner
Berlin, a town of 20,000 in central Connecticut, is pronounced with the first syllable accented, in contrast to the city in Germany. There's a legend that the pronunciation was changed during World War I to distance itself from German aggression — but that appears not to be true.
For many years, the Berlin Turnpike had a different name inside Berlin: The Wilbur Cross Highway.
Berlin offers a few points of interest to the Connecticut road enthusiast:
- The two highest-numbered signed state routes, 364 and 372, pass through town.
- Routes 9, 72, 372, and 571 have a twisted and interconnected history
- The interchange at Route 9 and the Berlin Turnpike was built (and rebuilt) three times, in 1942, 1962, and 1989. The ramp couplet from the Turnpike to Route 372 is pretty close to the original alignment from 1942.
Links
Present routes
Past routes
- US 5A (1940-1962) Worthington Ridge Road
- CT 72 (1932-1989) replaced by CT 9, CT 372, SR 571
- SR 439 (to 1962) the section of Farmington Avenue east of Mill Street, ending at Worthington Ridge Road
- SR 507 (1969-1978) now part of CT 9 north of SR 571
- SR 564 (1962-1963) became CT 364
- SR 751 (-1934) became part of CT 71
- SR 774 (-1944) somewhere in Berlin
- SR 783 (-1962) Gladding St, Alling St, and Harris St
Cancelled routes