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.svg) U.S. Route 6 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Army of the Republic Highway | ||||
 US 6 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byCaltrans | ||||
| Length | 40.505 mi[1] (65.186 km) | |||
| Existed | 1936[2]–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West[3] end |  US 395 inBishop | |||
| Major intersections |  SR 120 inBenton | |||
| East[4] end |  US 6 atNevada state line southwest ofCoaldale, NV | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | California | |||
| Counties | Inyo,Mono | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
U.S. Route 6 (US 6) is a transcontinentalUnited States Numbered Highway, stretching fromBishop, California, in the west toProvincetown, Massachusetts, in the east. TheCalifornia portion of US 6 lies in the eastern portion of the state, running between Bishop in theOwens Valley to theNevada state line inMineral County. Prior to the1964 state highway renumbering, US 6 extended to thePacific Ocean inLong Beach, California, as part of the historicauto trail named the Grand Army of the Republic Highway.[5]
The entire length of US 6 in California is defined in section 306 of theCalifornia Streets and Highways Code as simplyRoute 6, and that the highway is from "Route 395 nearBishop to theNevada state line near Montgomery Pass."[6] This corresponds with theAmerican Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)'s U.S. Route logs of US 6.[7] US 6 is part of theCalifornia Freeway and Expressway System[8] and is part of theNational Highway System,[9] a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by theFederal Highway Administration.[10] US 6 is eligible to be included in theState Scenic Highway System,[11] but it is not officially designated as a scenic highway by theCalifornia Department of Transportation (Caltrans).[12] The segment of US 6 in California is signed as east–west,[3][4] as it is in the rest of the nation, despite the route primarily running north–south within the state.[citation needed]
Starting inInyo County, US 6 begins its route at Bishop at a junction withUS 395 near theBishop Paiute Tribe. After leaving Inyo County and enteringMono County, the highway proceeds due north to the town ofBenton and intersectsState Route 120 (SR 120). The highway then begins ascending the lower foothills of theWhite Mountains, toward Montgomery Pass in Nevada. The highway reaches the state line before cresting the pass. While still in California, the highway passesBoundary Peak, the highest point in Nevada.[13]
The California portion of US 6 was originally commissioned in 1937 as an extension of the highway fromGreeley, Colorado, as part of the historic Grand Army of the Republic Highwayauto trail.[14]
US 6 was later extended further south through theMojave Desert andLos Angeles toLong Beach inSouthern California.[5] It traveled along with what is nowUS 395,SR 14 (Sierra Highway),I-5,I-110/SR 110, andSR 1. When theFour Level Interchange was constructed, US 6 was the original number for SR 110 at this interchange.
It formerly ran from Long Beach west toSan Pedro and continued north onFigueroa Street, briefly concurrent withUS 66 inLos Angeles before turning northwest and cosigning withUS 99 onSan Fernando Road. US 66 continued north on theArroyo Seco Freeway before also being decommissioned in 1964, leading to theHarbor and Arroyo Seco freeways being redesignated toSR 11, which ran from Gaffey Street in San Pedro toColorado Boulevard inPasadena. In 1981, the Harbor Freeway between Gaffey Street andI-10 becameI-110, replacing the SR 11 designation. The northern segment of SR 11 continuing to Glenarm Street becameSR 110, which continues briefly as the Harbor Freeway before becoming the Pasadena Freeway north of the Four Level Interchange withUS 101.
In 1964, all the route of US 6 in California south ofBishop lost official status with its US 6 signs removed. The highway was truncated to Bishop as part of the1964 state highway renumbering.[15] In 2007, the state legislature recognized the decommissioned segment as Historic US 6 and approved the placement of Historic US 6 signage along the old alignment.[16]
Except where prefixed with a letter,postmiles were measured on the road as it was in1964, based on the alignment that existed at the time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage. R reflects a realignment in the route since then, M indicates a second realignment, L refers to an overlap due to a correction or change, and T indicates postmiles classified as temporary (for a full list of prefixes, seeCalifornia postmile § Official postmile definitions).[1] Segments that remain unconstructed or have been relinquished to local control may be omitted. The numbers reset at county lines; the start and end postmiles in each county are given in the county column.
| County | Location | Postmile [1][17][18] | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inyo INY R0.00-8.35 | Bishop | 0.00 | US 395 –Los Angeles,Reno | No left turn from US 395 south to US 6; national western[3] terminus; US 395 south is former US 6 south | |
| 0.13 |   Wye Road toUS 395 north –Reno | Alternative route from US 395 south to US 6 | |||
| Mono MNO 0.00-32.29 | Benton | 25.72 | SR 120 –Lee Vining,Yosemite National Park | ||
| | 27.30 | Agricultural Inspection Station (westbound only) | |||
| | 32.29 |  US 6 east –Tonopah | Continuation into Nevada | ||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
 U.S. Route 6 | ||
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