GREENWICH, Conn. (AP) – The Connecticut Turnpike is 50 years old.

In opened in January, 1958 as the Greenwich-Killingly Expressway, a 129-mile stretch of highway spanning 28 cities and towns with a price tag of $464 million to build.

In a special section published in the New Haven Sunday Register, then-Gov. Abraham A. Ribicoff explained to state residents that the turnpike was engineered for maximum safety.

“Every attempt has been made to maintain the separation of opposing traffic, with wide center strips,” he wrote. “Entrances to and exits from the Turnpike are the latest design, with long acceleration and deceleration lanes.”

The turnpike was built to accommodate up to 115,000 vehicles a day on the six-lane segment from Greenwich to East Haven.

An average of 150,400 vehicles a day now travel I-95 between Greenwich and Stamford, while about 24,000 pass the Plainfield-Killingly line, according to the state Department of Transportation.

Newman E. Argraves, was the highway commissioner who oversaw the intestate’s construction.

“It was beautiful then,” Lawrence Argraves, Newman Argraves son, told the New Haven Register. “It was about two cars for every mile nothing but pure white concrete, no indication of any deterioration or anything of that nature. It was really a delight to drive it.”

The Interstate has had its share of tragedy. A 1983 crash of a tractor-trailer and three cars at the Stratford tolls, killed seven, prompting lawmakers to remove the tolls two years later, and replace the revenue with higher gasoline taxes.

That same year, the Mianus River bridge in Greenwich, killing three people. The bridge failure led to a 10-year, $6.5 billion highway construction program.

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Information from: New Haven Register, http://www.ctcentral.com

AP-ES-01-06-08 1811EST