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U.S. Route 6 is a main route of the U.S. Highway system, running east from U.S. Route 395 in Bishop, California to Route 6A in Provincetown, Massachusetts (on Cape Cod) for a total of 3205 miles (5158 km). It serves cities including Denver, Colorado, Lincoln, Nebraska, Des Moines, Iowa, Cleveland, Ohio and Hartford, Connecticut.

US 6 was originally proposed in 1925 as a short route from Provincetown west to Brewster, New York. It was extended to Erie, Pennsylvania in 1926 and 1927, and in 1931 it absorbed most of U.S. Route 32 and the entire route of U.S. Route 38 in an extension to Greeley, Colorado. (US 32 had run from Council Bluffs, Iowa east to Chicago, Illinois, and was fully decommissioned ca. 1934 when U.S. Route 34 was extended east over it from Sheffield, Illinois. US 38 connected Greeley with Omaha, Nebraska, just across the Missouri River from Council Bluffs.) From 1937, when it was extended to Long Beach, California, to 1964, when it was truncated to Bishop (as part of California's 1964 renumbering), US 6 was the longest U.S. Route. Since 1964, U.S. Route 20 has been the longest U.S. Route. However, US 20 is not signed and does not officially exist within Yellowstone National Park (making two separate sections of US 20),American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, United States Numbered Highways, 1989 edition and so US 6 is still the longest continuous U.S. Route.

US 6 has been called the Roosevelt Highway after Theodore Roosevelt. In 1953 it was formally dedicated as the Grand Army of the Republic Highway.Richard F. Weingroff, U.S. 6 - The Grand Army of the Republic Highway (Note that this includes its full former length to Long Beach, California.)

States traversed

U.S. Route 6 traverses the following states:

Mileskmstate
118190Massachusetts
2540Rhode Island
116187Connecticut
78126New York
394634Pennsylvania
259417Ohio
149240Indiana
172277Illinois
320515Iowa
373600Nebraska
467752Colorado
373600Utah
305491Nevada
4166California
3205 5158Total

Major cities on the route

Although it does not pass through either New York City or Chicago, it does pass through some of their outer suburbs.

Route description

California

California Streets and Highways Code, Chapter 2, Article 3, Section 301-635#Route 6
Though US 6 is a two-lane surface road in California, its full length is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System.

Nevada

Though the Nevada portion of U.S. 6 is over 300 miles long, it only passes through 2 cities Tonopah, Nevada and Ely, Nevada.

Utah

In an oddity among U.S. highways, U.S. 6 enters and leaves Utah multiplexed with U.S. Route 50. However the two routes are different through the state. U.S. 50 is the newer and shorter route. U.S. 6 is the old U.S. 50. U.S. 6 forms an arched shape route with Spanish Fork at the apex.

The western half of the arch is the road less traveled, passing through the Great Basin Desert, Sevier Lake, and the Tintic mining district.

The eastern half is a popular transportation corridor, paralleling the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad's transcontinental line. This half passes over Soldier Summit and the historic railroad hub of Helper. This half was supposed to be the route of Interstate 70 but the freeway was replanned to its present route.

U.S. 6 in Utah passes through or by several Ghost Towns including Tintic, Thistle, Tucker, Soldier Summit, Colton, Woodside and Cisco. Most of these towns were either mining or railroad based.

Colorado

Main Article: U.S. Route 6 in Colorado
US 6 is multiplexed with many different highways throughout Colorado; most of which is unsigned. Cities
Counties

Nebraska

U.S. Route 6 starts going southeast. The first town it goes into is Imperial, NE. Route 6 conjoins with U.S. Route 34, near Culbertson, NE. U.S. Route 6 than goes through McCook, NE. Route 6 than moves to the northeast, into Hastings. At Hastings, U.S. Route 34 breaks with U.S. Route 6, and moves north. U.S. Route 6 moves parallel with Interstate 80, until Lincoln, NE. At Lincoln, U.S. route 6 becomes Cornhusker Highway, and moves north of Interstate 80. U.S. route 6 moves parallel to Interstate 80 to Gretna, NE. U.S. route 6 moves to the due north, and becomes Dodge Street in Omaha, NE.

Iowa

Route 6 enters Iowa at Council Bluffs across the Missouri River from Omaha. It heads due east until Lewis, where it turns sharply north-northeast to Atlantic. There, it multiplexes with U.S. Route 71 north until Interstate 80. It multiplexes with 80 both east and west of Des Moines. At Newton, it splits north from 80 to run parallel. It passes through Grinnell and Marengo before arriving in Iowa City where it again crosses 80. At West Liberty, it proceeds due east until Wilton where it turns north to multiplex again with 80. Arriving in Davenport, it becomes Kimberly Road until Interstate 74 with which it runs across the Mississippi River on the Memorial Bridge into Moline, Illinois.

Illinois

Main article: U.S. Route 6 in Illinois

In Illinois, U.S. Route 6 parallels Interstates 74 and 80 mostly along its original routing, multiplexing with Interstate 74 for its first 5 miles (9 km) and Interstate 80 for the final 2 miles (5 km) of its routing in Illinois. U.S. 6 directly serves the downtowns of many cities for its length, including Moline, Geneseo, Ottawa, and Joliet — unlike U.S. Route 20, which in the state of Illinois mainly consists of freeway sections and bypasses around the cities U.S. 20 serves. Much like nearby U.S. Routes 30 and 52, U.S. Route 6 avoids the Chicago city limits.

Indiana

It crosses the state line and shares the same Borman Expressway with Interstate 80/94 through Hammond and Gary until Indiana State Road 51 Exit 15; it goes south for about 2 miles and turns east until it meets U.S. Route 421 in Westville, then goes south for a mile then east until it meets U.S. Route 35 and U.S. Route 31, and it shares the same road with U.S. Route 33 for about 5 miles, and then it is mostly 2 lanes through Indiana until it meets the Ohio state line just east of Butler, Indiana. Before the Borman Expressway was completed, U.S.6 was on Ridge Road, portions of which are now signed Business U.S. 6.

Ohio

6 enters Ohio from Indiana in Williams County. It passes through Napoleon, Bowling Green, and Fremont, before turning northeast towards Sandusky Bay and Lake Erie. After passing through Sandusky, the route follows the southern shore of Lake Erie, passing through Huron, Vermilion, Lorain, and the western suburbs of Greater Cleveland as Lake Road and Clifton Boulevard. In Cleveland, 6 follows Superior Avenue through Public Square and continues onto the east side as Euclid Avenue and Chardon Road. 6 continues eastward and leaves Ohio in Ashtabula County, slightly north of the Pymatuning Reservoir.

Pennsylvania

See U.S. Route 6 in Pennsylvania.

New York

US 6 runs for 78.09 miles in New York state. It enters and exits the state close to I-84 but separates in the interior of the state, taking a more southerly route.

Orange County (45.93 miles)

US 6 enters New York state from Pennsylvania multiplexed with US 209. US 209 splits off after 0.9 miles while US 6 closely parallels I-84 for another 16.9 miles. US 6 then overlaps with NY 17M for 5.2 miles until it reaches NY 17. US 6 then travels along the NY 17 freeway for 12.8 miles until just before the junction with I-87. US 6 exits from NY 17 and crosses under I-87 but has no junction with it. It then travels through the Bear Mountain State Park for 10.1 miles with the last 3.0 miles multiplexed with the Palisades Interstate Parkway. The Palisades Interstate Parkway ends at a traffic circle with US 9W and US 202. US 6 is joined by US 202 at this point and heads toward the Hudson River.

Rockland County (0.25 miles)

US 6/US 202 cross the Hudson River via the Bear Mountain Bridge (passenger vehicle toll: $1; eastbound only).

Westchester County (15.01 miles)

After traveling an extremely windy route for 3.8 miles along the east bank of the Hudson River, US 6/US 202 has a short (0.7-mile) three-way overlap with US 9 heading into the city of Peekskill. US 6/202 leaves US 9 at an exit ramp along with NY route 35 at 35's western terminus. US 202 & NY 35 separate from US 6 after another 0.8 miles. US 6 then goes through the town of Cortlandt and the rest of Westchester County (9.6 miles). US 6 has a junction with the Taconic State Parkway in this area. US 6 meets once with its spur, NY-6N, at 6N's western terminus.

Putnam County (16.90 miles)

US 6 again meets its spur, NY-6N, at NY 6N's eastern terminus. US 6 heads northeast through Putnam County until reaching the town of Carmel (7.8 miles). It then turns and heads southeast for 5.2 miles and duplexes US 202 again. US6/US 202 then head east, closely paralleling I-84 to the Connecticut state line (another 4.0 miles further). There is a junction with I-684,I-84, and NY 22 shortly after US 202 joins US 6 in this area.

Connecticut

US 6 extends for 116.3 miles in Connecticut. It begins in Danbury after crossing the New York state line, multiplexed with US 202. It runs for 3.8 miles in Danbury as a minor arterial road then multiplexes with Interstate 84 and US 7. The 4-way multiplex of I-84/US 7/US 6/US 202 continues for 3.3 miles after which US 7 and US 202 split off from I-84. US 6 follows I-84 for another 0.8 miles before returning to surface roads. US 6 then goes through the towns of Bethel and Newtown, and then overlaps with I-84 again for 6.4 miles between Newtown and Southbury. US 6 is a surface road again as it passes through Southbury, Woodbury, Watertown, and Thomaston. There is a 1.0 mile overlap with the CT 8 freeway in Thomaston. US 6 continues through the towns of Plymouth, Bristol, and Farmington. In Farmington, US 6 again joins I-84 as it passes through West Hartford, Hartford, East Hartford, and Manchester (13.4-mile overlap). US 44 briefly joins I-84/US 6 (for 0.2 miles) as they cross the Connecticut River on the Bulkeley Bridge. After exiting I-84 in Manchester, US 6 is joined again by US 44 for 6.9 miles up to Bolton, where I-384 terminates. US 44 then follows a more northerly route while US 6 continues through Bolton, Andover, and Columbia. It then becomes a freeway in Columbia (at a junction with CT 66), passing through Coventry, Windham, Mansfield and Windham (again), ending at the eastern terminus of CT 66. This freeway portion is 5.3 miles long. US 6 then continues as a surface road to the towns of Chaplin, Hampton, Brooklyn, and Killingly. The unsigned portion of the Connecticut Turnpike then meets with US 6 shortly before crossing the Rhode Island state line.

Rhode Island

Massachusetts

US 6 runs approximately 118 miles in Massachusetts. It is a surface expressway or 4-lane road for approximately its first 54 miles from the Rhode Island line to the Cape Cod Canal, except for sections in New Bedford (where it runs along two one-way city streets) and Fall River (where it runs along a two-lane President Avenue). After crossing the canal via the Sagamore Bridge, it becomes a 4-lane freeway from Bourne to Dennis at the Exit 9A/B cloverleaf (Mile 78), then reduces to a two-lane freeway with plastic stanchions posted on a small asphalt median. It remains like this until Orleans, where the freeway ends at a large rotary (Mile 90.6). Through Eastham and North Truro, US 6 is a 4-lane surface street. Through Wellfleet and southern Truro, US 6 is a former 3-lane road converted to 2 lanes with shoulders. In Provincetown, US 6 ends as it started in the state, as a surface expressway once again until it comes to an end at Route 6A at the Cape Cod National Seashore.

US 6 Massachusetts trivia
The freeway sections of US 6 on Cape Cod are known as the Mid-Cape Highway. The two-lane freeway section has a secondary, less-formal name of "Suicide Alley", due to the high number of fatalities from head-on collisions before the median improvements were constructed. (When the two-lane freeway stretch was first built, it was marked with passing zones like any other 2-lane highway. The small asphalt/stanchion median was built in stages beginning in 1989 and finishing in 1992.) The Mid-Cape Highway carries a speed limit of 55 on the standard freeway and 50 on the two-lane freeway.

When US 6 was first routed through Provincetown in 1926, the highway was signed along the rather narrow Commercial Street. After the Provincetown US 6 bypass was built, congestion and the increasing size of automobiles forced the town to post most of Commercial Street (all but the easternmost mile which hits the Truro line) as one-way westbound. Route 6A, when signed, was placed along the paralleling Bradford Street instead. There was an alternate plan at the time to make Bradford one-way westbound and Commercial one-way eastbound (which would have made both roads Route 6A), but this was rejected, as the town decided instead to let incoming traffic through the heavy Commercial Street (almost entirely pedestrian) business district.

US 6 was briefly signed on current I-195 between Route 105 and Route 28, however, when I-195 was completed, and the I-195 designation took over that section of freeway, US 6 reverted back to its older route.

History

US 6 was one of the first national arteries proposed in 1926 and went only as far west as the Hudson River in New York. It has since been extended westward, mostly at the expense of other routes including most of old U.S. Route 32 between Sheffield, Illinois and Council Bluffs, Iowa and old U.S. Route 38 between Omaha, Nebraska and Denver, Colorado before 1937, after which it was extended to Southern California. In California it was a north-south highway, violating the convention that only east-west routes have even numbers.

While the route was intact as early as 1937, paving was not completed on the route until 1952, when the last 160 miles (257 km) of US 6, between Delta, Utah, and Ely, Nevada, received two lanes of fresh asphalt.

In 1964, California truncated US 6 at Bishop in favor of U.S. Route 395, State Route 14, U.S. Route 99 (now Interstate 5), State Route 11 (now Interstate 110 and State Route 110), and State Route 1 from north to south.

All of old and current US 6, at least as far west and south as the intersection with old US 99, is known as the Grand Army of the Republic Highway in honor of Union veterans of the American Civil War. Massachusetts became the first state to so designate the route, in 1937; a formal dedication took place in 1953 at the road's western terminus in Long Beach.

For almost a year starting in the spring of 1983 U.S. 6 was a discontinuous route due to a massive landslide that destroyed the town of Thistle, Utah. During this time traffic was routed on 2 detours. One, via Salina, Utah, was over 200 miles long and took traffic almost 100 arial miles from the route of U.S. 6. The other, via Duchesne, Utah, was shorter and somewhat less drastic of a route change. However, this detour was for autos only. The Duchesne detour was impassable to trucks, due to steep grades on U.S. Highway 191. The night before the rebuilt U.S. 6 opened, the highway stubs at either side of the landslide were filled with tens of miles of trucks. The drivers tired of the lost revenue from the long detours. The landslide remains the most costly in the history of the United States.

Related routes and spur routes

Interstate 195 supplants it as a through route between Providence and Cape Cod. Interstate 84 supplants it, in general, between Hartford and Scranton, and was planned to extend east to Providence. Interstate 80 is within 40 miles (64 km) of it between Cleveland and Lincoln. Interstate 76 supplants it between Sterling, Colorado and Denver. Interstate 70 supplants it between Denver and Green River, Utah.

Between Lake Station, Indiana and Lansing, Illinois, US 6 is co-signed with Interstate 80 and Interstate 94.

U.S. Route 106 (decommissioned) was an alternative in eastern Pennsylvania, and may have been proposed to go into New York. U.S. Route 206 is a spur largely in New Jersey. U.S. Route 138 is a spur of US 38, which US 6 incorporated. A U.S. Route 6A was designated on what is now Route 66 in Connecticut; U.S. Route 6N runs through Pennsylvania and Ohio as a shortcut to Lake Erie.

Oddities

  • US 6 takes a semi-circular route through the Cape Cod Peninsula (dictated by topography). Someone leaving Provincetown, Mass. on 6 west will actually head east, then south, before finally turning west.
  • Formerly, it took both sides along the Cape Cod canal (and was signed as "BYPASS 6"), but is now routed only on the north side (The south side is now signed "TO 6" from the Sagamore to the Bourne Bridge).
  • At the eastern terminus of US 6 (in Provincetown), there is currently no "end" marker.
  • It is often reported to be a violation of the numbering system because it is wholly south of numerous other US routes with higher even numbers (8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, and 26). In fact, in north-central Ohio, part of it (from Cleveland, Ohio to Fremont, Ohio) lies to the north of U.S. Route 20, the lowest-numbered even U.S. Highway that intersects US 6. At this longitude, US 6 is the northernmost U.S. Highway, though US 2 was once signed through Canada ("TO US 2").
  • Until 1964, it crossed U.S. Route 66 twice (in Joliet and Los Angeles), and even crossed Interstate 10 (also in Los Angeles). The highway originally began in Long Beach, then diversed west into San Pedro then north along Figueroa Street through Downtown Los Angeles then shared several highways through Southern California, including the present-day Antelope Valley Freeway.
  • US 6 enters and leaves Utah multiplexed with U.S. Route 50 however the routes are different through the state. Before Interstate 70 was completed in Utah, the two routes were multiplexed throughout the state. US 6 takes the older route; US 50's route was changed to follow the interstate.
  • Its route through greater Los Angeles once had its southern terminus farther east than its entrance into California on the California-Nevada state line. Even today its current 'western' terminus in Bishop, California, lies farther east than its entrance into California from the Nevada state line. It is currently recognized and signed as a north-south route in California, but it was apparently east-west until it was truncated to U.S. Route 395.*
  • Taking US 6 all the way from New York to the West Coast is one of the early, unrealized goals of the narrator character (Sal Paradise) in the famous "beat" novel On the Road by Jack Kerouac.

See also

References

External links

California

U.S. Route 6

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "U.S. Route 6".

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