U.S. Route 6

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U.S. Route 6
Length:	3205 mi[1] (5158 km)
Formed:	1926[1]
West end:	US 395 in Bishop, CA
Major junctions:	I-15 near Provo, UT I-25 in Denver, CO I-35 near Des Moines, IA I-55 in Joliet, IL I-65 in Gary, IN I-75 in Bowling Green, OH I-81 in Scranton, PA I-95 in Providence, RI
East end:	Route 6A in Provincetown, MA
United States Numbered Highways U.S. Routes - Bannered - Divided - Replaced

U.S. Route 6 is a main route of the U.S. Highway system, running North East from Bishop, California to Provincetown, Massachusetts.

U.S. 6 was originally proposed in 1925 as a short route from Provincetown west to Brewster, New York, mostly following the alignment of New England Interstate Route 3. 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. From 1937, when it was extended to Long Beach, California, to 1964 US 6 was the longest U.S. Route. Since 1964, U.S. Route 20 has been the longest U.S. Route. However, U.S. 20 is not signed and does not officially exist within Yellowstone National Park making two separate sections of US 20.^[2]. Therefore, U.S. Route 6 is the longest continuous U.S. Route. It is also longer than the longest U.S. Interstate, Interstate 90.

U.S. 6 has been called the Roosevelt Highway after Theodore Roosevelt. In 1953 it was formally dedicated as the Grand Army of the Republic Highway.^[3]

The point farthest west along U.S. 6 is near the Nevada-California state line, not the western terminus. Due to the curvature of Cape Cod, the most eastern point of U.S. 6 is also not at the eastern terminus. The highest altitude along the highway is 11,990 ft (3,655 m) at Loveland Pass which is also where the highway crosses the Continental Divide

Taking U.S. 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.

[edit] States traversed

U.S. Highway 6 shield in California

U.S. 6 traverses the following states:

[edit] California

Legal definition of Route 6

The modern U.S. 6 in California is a short, two lane, North-South highway from Bishop to the State Line. Prior to a 1964 highway renumbering project U.S. 6 extended to Long Beach, California along what is now U.S. Route 395, State Route 14, Interstate 5, Interstate 110/State Route 110), and State Route 1. Despite the renumbering having removed all freeway portions it is still part of the California Freeway and Expressway System.

[edit] Nevada

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

[edit] Utah

U.S. 6 enters and leaves Utah concurrent 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 former route of U.S. 50. U.S. 6 forms an arch-shaped 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, Delta, Eureka 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 re-planned to its present route.

Starting in the spring of 1983 U.S. 6 was a discontinuous route for almost one year, due to a massive landslide that destroyed the town of Thistle. During this time traffic was routed on 2 detours. One, via Salina, Utah, was over 200 miles long and took traffic almost 100 aerial miles from the route of U.S. 6. The other, via Duchesne, Utah, was shorter. However, this detour traversed steep grades and was not recommended for trucks. 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^[4]. Two rest areas along U.S. 6 pay tribute to the residents of the town who lost everything.

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.

Legal Definition in Utah

The Utah section of U.S. 6 is defined in several parts:

• From Nevada state line to Interstate 15, in Utah Code Annotated § 72-4-106(2).[1]
• Concurrent with Interstate 15, in Utah Code Annotated § 72-4-107(5).[2]
• From Interstate 15 to Interstate 70, in Utah Code Annotated § 72-4-106(2).
• Concurrent with Interstate 70 to the Colorado state line, in Utah Code Annotated § 72-4-112(8).[3]

The multipart definition is the result of Utah's policy of not formally overlapping routes.

[edit] Colorado

Main Article: U.S. Route 6 in Colorado

U.S. 6 is concurrent with Interstate 70 for a significant portion of its length from the Utah state line to Denver. Within the city limits, U.S. 6 follows Denver's 6th Avenue (known as "6th Freeway"). The highway then travels north briefly, and follows Interstate 76 for most of its length east of Denver. It is unsigned while it is overlapped.

U.S. Route 6 in Colorado

[edit] Nebraska

U.S. 6 starts going southeast. The first town it goes into is Imperial, NE. U.S. 6 conjoins with U.S. Route 34, near Culbertson, NE. U.S. 6 then goes through McCook, NE. U.S. 6 then moves to the northeast, into Hastings. At Hastings, U.S. Route 34 breaks with U.S. 6, and moves north. U.S. 6 moves parallel with Interstate 80, until Lincoln, NE. At Lincoln, U.S. 6 becomes Cornhusker Highway, and moves north of Interstate 80. U.S. 6 moves parallel to Interstate 80 to Gretna, NE. U.S. 6 moves to the due north, and becomes West Dodge Road and Dodge Street in Omaha, NE. It overlaps with I-480 in Omaha and is called the "Gerald R. Ford Freeway" after the Omaha-born President. It crosses the Missouri River into Iowa on a girder bridge completed in 1966 that replaced the Ak-Sar-Ben Bridge which was the first road bridge to connect the two cities.

[edit] Iowa

U.S. 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 overlaps with U.S. Route 71 north until Interstate 80. It overlaps with 80 both east and west of Des Moines. At Newton, it splits north from 80 to run parallel. U.S. 6 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 concurrency 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.

[edit] Illinois

Main article: U.S. Route 6 in Illinois

In Illinois, U.S. 6 parallels Interstates 74 and 80 mostly along its original routing, overlapping 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. 6 avoids the Chicago city limits.

[edit] Indiana

U.S. 6 crosses the state line and shares the same Borman Expressway with Interstate 80/94 through Hammond and Gary until 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 until U.S. Route 33 breaks south toward Fort Wayne, IN at Ligonier, IN, and then it is mostly two 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.

[edit] Ohio

US 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 in Sheffield Lake, Avon Lake, Bay Village, and Rocky River, and Clifton Boulevard in Lakewood and the West Blvd./Edgewater neighborhood of Cleveland proper. U.S. 6 follows the Cleveland Memorial Shoreway into Downtown Cleveland, entering Downtown by crossing the Detroit-Superior Bridge. U.S. 6 follows Superior Avenue through Public Square and continues onto the east side as Euclid Avenue and Chardon Road. U.S. 6 continues eastward and leaves Ohio in Ashtabula County, slightly north of the Pymatuning Reservoir.

[edit] Alternate U.S. 6

Alternate US 6 parallels U.S. 6, its western terminus being at the U.S. 6/SR 2 concurrency just west of the Rocky River; its eastern terminus is just west of the Cuyahoga River and about a mile west of Public Square (in Downtown Cleveland). US 20 runs concurrent with ALT 6 for 0.2 miles while they cross the Rocky River. Nearly all ofl of its 7-mile span follows Detroit Avenue's alignment through Lakewood, and Cleveland. The far western portion in Rocky River follows Detroit Road and Old Lake Road.

[edit] Pennsylvania

Main article: U.S. Route 6 in Pennsylvania

US 6 runs for 394 miles in Pennsylvania between its entrance point 20 miles west of Meadville and its exit at Matamoras. From the Ohio border to U.S. Route 322 in Conneaut Lake, the route runs in a southeast direction. US 6 then joins US 322 and heads east to Meadville, picking up U.S. Route 19 west of the city. South of downtown, US 322 splits from the concurrency while US 6 and US 19 remain concurrent through Meadville. The two routes continue northward to Mill Village, where US 6 and US 19 split at a junction with U.S. Route 6N.

For the remainder of its routing in Pennsylvania, US 6 runs roughly parallel to the New York-Pennsylvania border. Along the way, US 6 is concurrent with U.S. Route 62 for a short distance near Warren. At Milford, US 6 meets U.S. Route 209. The two routes embark to the northeast, crossing the Delaware River in Matamoras.

[edit] New York

Main article: U.S. Route 6 in New York

The 79 mile portion of US 6 in New York is located primarily in Orange County, with lengthy stretches in Putnam County and Westchester County and a small segment in Rockland County. The route enters the state along with US 209 in Port Jervis. The two routes split just north of town, with US 209 taking a more northerly routing to access Kingston. US 6, in contrast, runs primarily east-west through New York.

A section of US 6 runs concurrent with New York State Route 17 (the Quickway) between Goshen and Harriman. At Harriman, NY 17 becomes an at-grade road and heads south while US 6 remains a limited-access highway as it heads east into Harriman State Park. Near the east side of the park, US 6 intersects the Palisades Interstate Parkway and runs concurrent to the road to the Bear Mountain Bridge, where US 6 is joined by U.S. Route 202 as it crosses the Hudson River.

On the other side of the river, US 6 and US 202 run along the Hudson to Peekskill, where the two routes split, allowing US 6 to continue to the northeast into Putnam County. In Brewster, US 6 meets US 202 once again. The routes become intertwined once more, running concurrent with one another into Connecticut.

[edit] Connecticut

Main article: U.S. Route 6 in Connecticut

U.S. 6 extends for 116.3 miles in Connecticut. It begins in the city of Danbury after crossing the New York state line, concurrent with US 202 and ends at the Rhode Island state line in the town of Killingly. In western Connecticut, U.S. 6 either closely parallels or is overlapped with Interstate 84, serving as the local route in the suburbs of Danbury, Waterbury, and Hartford. It crosses the Connecticut River (overlapped with I-84 and U.S. Route 44) on the Bulkeley Bridge. In eastern Connecticut, U.S. 6 is one of the principal routes connecting Hartford and Providence, passing through the small urban areas of Willimantic and Danielson. The unsigned portion of the Connecticut Turnpike then meets with U.S. 6 shortly before crossing the Rhode Island state line.

[edit] Rhode Island

Main article: U.S. Route 6 in Rhode Island

[edit] Massachusetts

Main article: U.S. Route 6 in Massachusetts

U.S. 6 runs approximately 117.5 miles in Massachusetts. It parallels Interstate 195 between Providence and Wareham, Massachusetts and serves as the local business route. U.S. 6 continues into Cape Cod across the Sagamore Bridge as a freeway from Bourne to Orleans. North of Orleans, it becomes a surface road again to its terminus in Provincetown.

[edit] History

U.S. 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.

U.S. 6 through Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts was originally part of New England Route 3 from 1921 to 1926, when the New England Interstate system was discontinued.

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 U.S. 6, between Delta, Utah, and Ely, Nevada, received two lanes of fresh asphalt.

U.S. 6 was mentioned as the main route in the 1947 cross-country trip made by Sal Paradise in Jack Kerouac's novel On the Road, published in 1957. In those pre-Interstate Highway days, Kerouac, in character as Paradise, finds it remarkable that a single road can go all the way from the tip of Cape Cod to Nevada.

In 1964, California truncated U.S. 6 at Bishop as part of a larger highway renumbering project.

All of old and current U.S. 6, at least as far west and south as the intersection with old U.S. 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.

Starting in the spring of 1983 U.S. 6 was a discontinuous route for almost one year, due to a massive landslide that destroyed the town of Thistle, Utah. The highway was frantically rebuilt by blasting a path higher up the canyon wall. The landslide remains the most costly in the history of the United States.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Federal Highway Administration: US 6
• U.S. Route 6 Tour Association
• US 6 in Connecticut (Scott Oglesby)
• Pennsylvania Route 6 Tourist Association
• Linesville, Pa., National U.S. Route 6 Museum Site
• Utah Department of Transportation - US 6

[edit] California

• WestCoastRoads - US 6
• California Highways: US 6
• The Big Highways Page: California Route 6
• Caltrans: Route 6 highway conditions
• Virtual Tour of US 6 in California and western Nevada

		edit Main U.S. Routes
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38
40	41	42	43	44	45	46		48	49	50	51	52	53	54	55	56	57	58	59
60	61	62	63	64	65	66	67	68	69	70	71	72	73	74	75	76	77	78	79
80	81	82	83	84	85		87		89	90	91	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99
101		163						400				412				425
Lists		U.S. Routes - Bannered - Divided - Replaced

Browse numbered routes
< I-5	CA		SR 7 >
< SR 895	NV		I-15 >
< SH 5	CO		SH 7 >
< NE 5	NE		NE 7 >
< IA 5	IA		IA 7 >
< ILL 6	IL		ILL 7 >
< SR 5	IN		SR 7 >
< SR 5	OH		SR 7 >
< PA 5	PA		US 6N >
< NY 5S	NY		US 6N >
< Route 5	CT		Route 7 >
< Route 5	RI		Route 6A >
< Route 5	MA		Route 6A >
< Route 2A	N.E.		Route 4 >