I would like to get some information on US 6 because someday I would like to travel the entire length.
Where in the country is US 6 more than just a rural 2 lane Highway(not including concurrencies with interstate highways)?
Are there freeway segments of US 6 that aren't part of the interstate highway system?
What is the length of US 6 that's not included on the interstate highway system?
Sorry if I worded any of my questions weird. Thanks in advance for any responses.
US 6 has a freeway section in downtown Denver. It also has expressway status in part of Massachusetts.
Quote from: Inyomono395 on January 16, 2017, 07:14:54 PM
I would like to get some information on US 6 because someday I would like to travel the entire length.
Where in the country is US 6 more than just a rural 2 lane Highway(not including concurrencies with interstate highways)?
Are there freeway segments of US 6 that aren't part of the interstate highway system?
What is the length of US 6 that's not included on the interstate highway system?
Sorry if I worded any of my questions weird. Thanks in advance for any responses.
Where I'm at (northeast IL/Chicago suburbs), US 6 is an urban arterial. It has a freeway segment going into IN, then becomes an arterial again in NW IN. Traffic will calm down further east. Pretty much everywhere from Joliet, IL to Hobart, IN will include heavy traffic in the daytime.
U.S. 6 follows I-70 in Utah and Colorado from Green River to Grand Junction, for almost 100 miles (Google Maps here (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/38.981376,-110.232671/39.1110102,-108.6469926/@39.1663441,-110.5552609,258571m/data=!3m1!1e3)). It's not signed especially well with U.S. 50 and U.S. 6 shields. There's an "Old U.S. 6/U.S. 50" road that runs roughly parallel to parts of this segment of I-70.
I realize you were asking about sections of U.S. 6 that do not overlap with Interstates, but wanted you to be aware of the relative lack of signage here.
I think U.S. 6 is divided in the area of Warren, Pennsylvania, where it overlaps with U.S. 62.
There's also the freeway section northeast of Scranton. Plus it overlaps the Palisades Parkway in NY (and has a divider going up the mountain). And the Willimantic bypass in CT.
Also is an expressway through Johnston, RI into downtown Providence, as well as the Mid-Cape Highway from Sagamore to Orleans.
Quote from: cpzilliacus on January 16, 2017, 09:53:11 PM
U.S. 6 follows I-70 in Utah and Colorado from Green River to Grand Junction, for almost 100 miles (Google Maps here (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/38.981376,-110.232671/39.1110102,-108.6469926/@39.1663441,-110.5552609,258571m/data=!3m1!1e3)). It's not signed especially well with U.S. 50 and U.S. 6 shields. There's an "Old U.S. 6/U.S. 50" road that runs roughly parallel to parts of this segment of I-70.
I realize you were asking about sections of U.S. 6 that do not overlap with Interstates, but wanted you to be aware of the relative lack of signage here.
The Old US 50/6 through Thompson Springs and Cisco is especially worth checking out since both are fairly modern ghost towns. Part of the Cisco alignment was absorbed into UT 128.
Besides the short highway near Willimantic, CT (one of two segments built for a relocated I-84), US 6 overlaps I-84 from Exit 60 in Manchester west to Exit 38 in Farmington, rejoins in Southbury (over the Housatonic River), leaves in Newtown and then joins I-84 again from Exit 8 near the Bethel/Danbury city line, finally splitting off at Exit 4, which starts a concurrency with US Route 202 towards Brewster, NY.
There's a decent-length overlap with NY 17 in Orange County. Overall, between super twos and full freeway sections, US 6 is limited-access from Goshen to the Hudson River, about 23 miles.
I'd say if you're planning on eventually clinching the entire route, you might as well include its historical southern leg south of Bishop. That is, US 395, CA 14 (and specifically the Sierra Highway from Lancaster/Palmdale to Newhall Pass), and tracing its route through the San Fernando Valley to the Harbor Freeway.
In Nevada, US 6 is two-lane and very lightly traveled. While Nevada tourism officials plug US 50 to the north as the "loneliest road", I think the honor really belongs to US 6. Between Tonopah and Ely, US 6 has what may be the longest stretch in the lower 48 with no gas stations (over 160 miles).
In MA, much of US 6 is either a 4-lane arterial or expressway (Mid-Cape Highway west of MA 134).
There is a short (3-4 miles) freeway section near Bowling Green, Ohio. If you look at Google earth, you can also see that when 6 was re-routed around Bowling Green, that the state bought enough right-of-way to make the entire section (about 12 miles) 4-lanes. Wooster Street through Bowling Green is the original routing of US-6.
There is also a freeway section around Fremont, OH, and US-6 is co signed on the OH-2 freeway for about 1/2 mile between Sandusky and Huron.
A cross-country trip on US-6 is on my bucket list, too.
US 6 also forms the northern portion of a sort of inner loop in downtown Providence, and is also multiplexed with I-95 and briefly I-195.
I've actually spent several years researching US 6 and have traveled its length; multiple times in a number of sections. To me, the majority of it is really interesting. As a cross-country route, I think it's a much more representative highway than the more iconic ones - 66, Lincoln Highway, 20 - due to its more diagonal routing and true coastal endpoints. Plus, the majority of it still exists as it was, with relatively short sections paralleled or supplanted by interstates.
But, if you follow the historic sections, it takes a really long time to drive.
Your question about non-interstate mileage would be pretty difficult to calculate. But Wikipedia has its current (i.e. - missing the pre-1964 section through CA) mileage numbers by state:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_6
Top of my head, freeway sections, where it's not on an interstate in bold:
- I-110 in the LA area (6 was routed on it for only a few years)
- I-5 in the LA area north of 110 (again, not on there for very long)
- I-15 south of Provo
- I-70 in portions of Utah and Colorado (it jumps on and off, but is mostly off in CO)
- 6th Avenue freeway west of Denver and partially through Golden
- I-76 east of Denver
- Dodge Street freeway west of Omaha
- I-480 in Omaha and Council Bluffs
- Parts of I-80 in Iowa (historic sections mostly along the White Pole Road)
- I-80/94 south of Chicago and into Northwest Indiana
- Western section of Cleveland Shoreway
- Bypass of Warren, PA
- Part of I-81 in northern Scranton
- Freeway from Scranton to Carbondale, PA
- NY 17 west of Bear Mountain
- Portions of I-84 in Connecticut
- I-384 in Connecticut
- Planned I-84 routing in Providence
- Freeway through much of Barnstable County, MA
Quote from: coatimundi on January 17, 2017, 11:54:22 AM- Planned I-84 routing in Providence
Don't forget the
Planned I-84 routing in Willamantic, CT as well.
Quote from: coatimundi on January 17, 2017, 11:54:22 AM
- Western section of Cleveland Shoreway
Most of that is being downgraded to a 35 mph boulevard
Quote from: frankenroad on January 17, 2017, 10:25:28 AM
There is a short (3-4 miles) freeway section near Bowling Green, Ohio. If you look at Google earth, you can also see that when 6 was re-routed around Bowling Green, that the state bought enough right-of-way to make the entire section (about 12 miles) 4-lanes. Wooster Street through Bowling Green is the original routing of US-6.
There is also a freeway section around Fremont, OH, and US-6 is co signed on the OH-2 freeway for about 1/2 mile between Sandusky and Huron.
There's also another freeway segment in NW Ohio around Napoleon. Most of it is concurrent with US 24, but there's one short segment where 6 is a freeway by itself, where it crosses the Maumee River and has interchanges with state routes on both sides of the river.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on January 16, 2017, 10:37:21 PM
Quote from: cpzilliacus on January 16, 2017, 09:53:11 PM
U.S. 6 follows I-70 in Utah and Colorado from Green River to Grand Junction, for almost 100 miles ... There's an "Old U.S. 6/U.S. 50" road that runs roughly parallel to parts of this segment of I-70.
The Old US 50/6 through Thompson Springs and Cisco is especially worth checking out since both are fairly modern ghost towns. Part of the Cisco alignment was absorbed into UT 128.
I plan to be on a part of that in June, from UT-128 east to I-70. From what I've seen in pictures, Cisco seems to be pretty junky due to easy access by vandals.
Quote from: kphoger on January 17, 2017, 04:46:52 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on January 16, 2017, 10:37:21 PM
Quote from: cpzilliacus on January 16, 2017, 09:53:11 PM
U.S. 6 follows I-70 in Utah and Colorado from Green River to Grand Junction, for almost 100 miles ... There's an "Old U.S. 6/U.S. 50" road that runs roughly parallel to parts of this segment of I-70.
The Old US 50/6 through Thompson Springs and Cisco is especially worth checking out since both are fairly modern ghost towns. Part of the Cisco alignment was absorbed into UT 128.
I plan to be on a part of that in June, from UT-128 east to I-70. From what I've seen in pictures, Cisco seems to be pretty junky due to easy access by vandals.
Thompson Springs is much more intact by a significant margin. I would owe that too an active DOT station and Shell just south of town. There was some really interesting stuff created by the vandals in Cisco a couple years back. In particular there was a stuffed bear displayed in an ominous way that was strangely fitting. Surprisingly there are a lot of intact homes in Cisco with "no trespassing" signs....I guess they worked? Also there is virtually no background noise aside from Oil Derricks chugging away.
Quote from: Bickendan on January 17, 2017, 03:34:12 AM
I'd say if you're planning on eventually clinching the entire route, you might as well include its historical southern leg south of Bishop. That is, US 395, CA 14 (and specifically the Sierra Highway from Lancaster/Palmdale to Newhall Pass), and tracing its route through the San Fernando Valley to the Harbor Freeway.
I've driven US 395 and CA 14 a thousand times over, but I've only driven short sections of the Sierra highway in the Lancaster/Palmdale area.
I would like to drive the entire Sierra Highway from just south of Mojave to Newhall Pass.
Is it a continuous and well signed route?
What are some interesting stops on the Sierra Highway?
After Newhall Pass how do I follow the original alignment of US 6?
Sierra Highway is an important local road for most of the towns that CA-14 goes through. It's not obviously signed as US-6 anymore, but you shouldn't have any trouble following it from roughly Lancaster down to its southern terminus at San Fernando Road/The Old Road.
As for stops... You've got the Vasquez Rocks, which is a popular off-roading site. There are a few entrances to the Pacific Crest Trail, IIRC, and the Sierra Highway itself deviates from CA-14 in a few places, notably near Soledad Canyon.
Quote from: Inyomono395 on January 21, 2017, 08:54:37 PM
After Newhall Pass how do I follow the original alignment of US 6?
Here's what I recall (feel free to correct me if I'm off) was the pre-freeway alignments:
San Fernando Road from Sylmar to Avenue 26 near Dodger Stadium (this is also former US 99)
Avenue 26 to Figueroa Street
Figueroa Street (including today's Route 110/Arroyo Seco Parkway through the tunnels) south to PCH/Route 1 in Wilmington. Co-signed with old Route 11 for just about that entire length, IIRC.
PCH/Route 1 southbound (actual direction eastbound) to Atlantic Avenue (old Route 15) in Long Beach
Note that the western (southern) terminus of US 6 in Long Beach was cut back to today's I-710/Long Beach Freeway in the late 1950s
I'll just add that historic sections of US-6 in Iowa are actually signed pretty well with "Historic US-6" markers. It's pretty easy to follow without needing a map or knowing the route in advance - I did this once about a month ago, from Davenport to Des Moines.
Quote from: TheStranger on January 23, 2017, 01:01:32 PM
Quote from: Inyomono395 on January 21, 2017, 08:54:37 PM
After Newhall Pass how do I follow the original alignment of US 6?
Here's what I recall (feel free to correct me if I'm off) was the pre-freeway alignments:
San Fernando Road from Sylmar to Avenue 26 near Dodger Stadium (this is also former US 99)
Avenue 26 to Figueroa Street
Figueroa Street (including today's Route 110/Arroyo Seco Parkway through the tunnels) south to PCH/Route 1 in Wilmington. Co-signed with old Route 11 for just about that entire length, IIRC.
PCH/Route 1 southbound (actual direction eastbound) to Atlantic Avenue (old Route 15) in Long Beach
Note that the western (southern) terminus of US 6 in Long Beach was cut back to today's I-710/Long Beach Freeway in the late 1950s
I could be wrong, but I had always thought there was some evidence that 6 had possibly gotten to Los Alamitos Circle at some point. There was no real proof, but also nothing to disprove it. Just what I had read about it.
At some point around 1950, Truman Street was built within the City of San Fernando and US 6 & 99 north/east bound traffic was routed onto it while opposing traffic remained on San Fernando Road, and both operated as one-way streets. Sometime in the late 50's or early 60's, both were re-routed to use solely Truman Street, likely because thru traffic became a problem on the commercial strip within Downtown San Fernando.
There's also a break in Burbank: San Fernando Road goes right through what is now the Burbank Town Center. The street was closed in 1967 for the "Golden Mall" (a pedestrian mall similar to 3rd Street in Santa Monica, from the pictures (http://wesclark.com/burbank/golden_mall.html)) while what's there now was built in 1991. Today, you can actually walk its path as the mall has a hallway that leads right into Macy's, then out the Macy's door and onto the street, you're facing San Fernando Road again.
What's always been crazy to me is how much has been retained from the Arroyo Seco Parkway configuration. Those slip ramps that reach Figueroa are original to its 1940 construction.
If you ever follow the entire existing route, be sure to take the detour to Grand Central Terminal, south of Downtown Burbank. This was the original air terminal for Los Angeles, and the original runway is now Grand Central Avenue. Disney owns it and has restored it to much of its original art deco glory, and it seemed like they were intending on opening it to the public in some way. I was through there a few months ago, and the building was closed, but they had a lot of interpretive signs up in the back, as well as a stage.
Quote from: coatimundi on January 23, 2017, 06:57:05 PM
Quote from: TheStranger on January 23, 2017, 01:01:32 PM
Quote from: Inyomono395 on January 21, 2017, 08:54:37 PM
After Newhall Pass how do I follow the original alignment of US 6?
Here's what I recall (feel free to correct me if I'm off) was the pre-freeway alignments:
San Fernando Road from Sylmar to Avenue 26 near Dodger Stadium (this is also former US 99)
Avenue 26 to Figueroa Street
Figueroa Street (including today's Route 110/Arroyo Seco Parkway through the tunnels) south to PCH/Route 1 in Wilmington. Co-signed with old Route 11 for just about that entire length, IIRC.
PCH/Route 1 southbound (actual direction eastbound) to Atlantic Avenue (old Route 15) in Long Beach
Note that the western (southern) terminus of US 6 in Long Beach was cut back to today's I-710/Long Beach Freeway in the late 1950s
I could be wrong, but I had always thought there was some evidence that 6 had possibly gotten to Los Alamitos Circle at some point. There was no real proof, but also nothing to disprove it. Just what I had read about it.
At some point around 1950, Truman Street was built within the City of San Fernando and US 6 & 99 north/east bound traffic was routed onto it while opposing traffic remained on San Fernando Road, and both operated as one-way streets. Sometime in the late 50's or early 60's, both were re-routed to use solely Truman Street, likely because thru traffic became a problem on the commercial strip within Downtown San Fernando.
There's also a break in Burbank: San Fernando Road goes right through what is now the Burbank Town Center. The street was closed in 1967 for the "Golden Mall" (a pedestrian mall similar to 3rd Street in Santa Monica, from the pictures (http://wesclark.com/burbank/golden_mall.html)) while what's there now was built in 1991. Today, you can actually walk its path as the mall has a hallway that leads right into Macy's, then out the Macy's door and onto the street, you're facing San Fernando Road again.
What's always been crazy to me is how much has been retained from the Arroyo Seco Parkway configuration. Those slip ramps that reach Figueroa are original to its 1940 construction.
If you ever follow the entire existing route, be sure to take the detour to Grand Central Terminal, south of Downtown Burbank. This was the original air terminal for Los Angeles, and the original runway is now Grand Central Avenue. Disney owns it and has restored it to much of its original art deco glory, and it seemed like they were intending on opening it to the public in some way. I was through there a few months ago, and the building was closed, but they had a lot of interpretive signs up in the back, as well as a stage.
Quote from: coatimundi on January 23, 2017, 06:57:05 PM
Quote from: TheStranger on January 23, 2017, 01:01:32 PM
Quote from: Inyomono395 on January 21, 2017, 08:54:37 PM
After Newhall Pass how do I follow the original alignment of US 6?
Here's what I recall (feel free to correct me if I'm off) was the pre-freeway alignments:
San Fernando Road from Sylmar to Avenue 26 near Dodger Stadium (this is also former US 99)
Avenue 26 to Figueroa Street
Figueroa Street (including today's Route 110/Arroyo Seco Parkway through the tunnels) south to PCH/Route 1 in Wilmington. Co-signed with old Route 11 for just about that entire length, IIRC.
PCH/Route 1 southbound (actual direction eastbound) to Atlantic Avenue (old Route 15) in Long Beach
Note that the western (southern) terminus of US 6 in Long Beach was cut back to today's I-710/Long Beach Freeway in the late 1950s
I could be wrong, but I had always thought there was some evidence that 6 had possibly gotten to Los Alamitos Circle at some point. There was no real proof, but also nothing to disprove it. Just what I had read about it.
At some point around 1950, Truman Street was built within the City of San Fernando and US 6 & 99 north/east bound traffic was routed onto it while opposing traffic remained on San Fernando Road, and both operated as one-way streets. Sometime in the late 50's or early 60's, both were re-routed to use solely Truman Street, likely because thru traffic became a problem on the commercial strip within Downtown San Fernando.
There's also a break in Burbank: San Fernando Road goes right through what is now the Burbank Town Center. The street was closed in 1967 for the "Golden Mall" (a pedestrian mall similar to 3rd Street in Santa Monica, from the pictures (http://wesclark.com/burbank/golden_mall.html)) while what's there now was built in 1991. Today, you can actually walk its path as the mall has a hallway that leads right into Macy's, then out the Macy's door and onto the street, you're facing San Fernando Road again.
What's always been crazy to me is how much has been retained from the Arroyo Seco Parkway configuration. Those slip ramps that reach Figueroa are original to its 1940 construction.
If you ever follow the entire existing route, be sure to take the detour to Grand Central Terminal, south of Downtown Burbank. This was the original air terminal for Los Angeles, and the original runway is now Grand Central Avenue. Disney owns it and has restored it to much of its original art deco glory, and it seemed like they were intending on opening it to the public in some way. I was through there a few months ago, and the building was closed, but they had a lot of interpretive signs up in the back, as well as a stage.
US 6 never ventured as far east as the traffic circle; the farthest it got was Atlantic Ave. (then pre-freeway SSR 15), where it met its western terminus at the same point that post-1947 US 91 met its southern one (later moved to the Long Beach Freeway/PCH interchange), coming in from the east.
The San Fernando/Truman couplet was revamped as cited above in 1964, a year after the I-5 freeway was completed as far as Newhall Pass and the former route was relinquished to the City of San Fernando, which had long desired to remove traffic from their main downtown street. In Burbank, the old US 6/99 alignment originally just went down San Fernando Road as well, but after WWII was shifted to Front Street along the SP tracks; the facility was a channelized 4-lane expressway with signals on the main cross streets but no private access. It extended as far south as Providencia St., where it turned east (SB direction) a block back to its original San Fernando Road alignment. That was always a traffic nightmare, as Providencia was never widened but restriped as 4 lanes (if they were at least 10' wide, I'd certainly be surprised) to handle the highway traffic. That arrangement lasted until late 1957, when the original Golden State Freeway segment between Glendale Blvd. in L.A.'s Atwater district and Alameda Ave. in Burbank was opened; a temporary alignment via Victory Blvd., a few blocks west of the freeway's route, took US 6/99 through Burbank until the freeway was extended north to Burbank Blvd in late 1959; most of the extension sat atop the old Front Street routing.
Grand Central Avenue, which is actually in Glendale (my home town), was built about 1958-59 within the old Grand Central Airport grounds. Disney bought a considerable amount of land in the industrial park that replaced the airfield; they located their "Imagineering" division, which was their R & D branch -- most of the post-1959 rides at Disneyland and, later, Disney World (as well as the ensuing overseas Disney parks) were designed and built in the complex in the old Grand Central area. (Disclaimer: my mother was an animation artist at Disney for 40 years, retiring in 1983; I grew up with all things Disney!). Most of the old Imagineering function eventually ended up either back within the original Disney "campus" on Buena Vista St. in Burbank or at the animation complex at Epcot Center in Florida.
Quote from: sparker on January 24, 2017, 09:56:39 PM
US 6 never ventured as far east as the traffic circle; the farthest it got was Atlantic Ave. (then pre-freeway SSR 15), where it met its western terminus at the same point that post-1947 US 91 met its southern one (later moved to the Long Beach Freeway/PCH interchange), coming in from the east.
I know it almost certainly never reached the circle, but I like the idea of it ending there. Just a much more ceremonial place to end, though I would guess that the PCH/Atlantic intersection was just a bit more glamorous than it is today.
Quote from: sparker on January 24, 2017, 09:56:39 PM
The San Fernando/Truman couplet was revamped as cited above in 1964, a year after the I-5 freeway was completed as far as Newhall Pass and the former route was relinquished to the City of San Fernando, which had long desired to remove traffic from their main downtown street. In Burbank, the old US 6/99 alignment originally just went down San Fernando Road as well, but after WWII was shifted to Front Street along the SP tracks; the facility was a channelized 4-lane expressway with signals on the main cross streets but no private access. It extended as far south as Providencia St., where it turned east (SB direction) a block back to its original San Fernando Road alignment. That was always a traffic nightmare, as Providencia was never widened but restriped as 4 lanes (if they were at least 10' wide, I'd certainly be surprised) to handle the highway traffic. That arrangement lasted until late 1957, when the original Golden State Freeway segment between Glendale Blvd. in L.A.'s Atwater district and Alameda Ave. in Burbank was opened; a temporary alignment via Victory Blvd., a few blocks west of the freeway's route, took US 6/99 through Burbank until the freeway was extended north to Burbank Blvd in late 1959; most of the extension sat atop the old Front Street routing.
Burbank or at the animation complex at Epcot Center in Florida.
Excellent info, as always from you, and I had forgotten to add the Front Street alignment (of which, the San Fernando Road to Burbank Boulevard segment was reused by I-5) of US 6.
I would guess the Providencia routing was mostly to, again, keep traffic off of a main commercial strip.