New Canaan Rest Areas Slated for Revamp

Two service stops on either side of the Merritt Parkway in New Canaan are due for a major makeover. Come 2011, motorists will see the State Department of Transportation transform the rest areas with new restaurants, stores, and facilities upgrades.

The project is part of a much larger service area overhaul plan, Governor M. Jodi Rell announced with a press release Thursday. After years of negotiation, the state has entered into a 35-year concession agreement with a regional Subway restaurant franchiser and private equity firm the Carlyle Group to revamp the state's highway plazas, an agreement that Rell said will create 1,000 jobs and rake in $500 million when all is said and done.

“This is an unprecedented commitment to economic development, jobs and meeting the needs of the traveling public,” Rell said in the release.

The partners will invest $178 million to modernize and upgrade the plazas, according to the governor's office.

In addition to long-term (since 1985) food provider McDonald’s, motorists will see a Subway, a Dunkin’ Donuts and a convenience store. Alliance Energy, a large New England petroleum-marketing distributor, will take over ExxonMobil’s role as major fuel provider.

The 23 service plazas are along the Connecticut Turnpike (northbound and southbound), the Merritt and Wilbur Cross Parkways (northbound and southbound) and the I-395 (northbound and southbound). Both Greenwich and Darien service areas on the Merritt are among those nearby.