Existed: June 8, 1931 – present Constructed 8 June 1931 | Length 239.8 km | |
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West end: US 6 / I-80 / I-94 at Illinois state line East end: US 6 at Ohio state line Major cities Hobart, Gary, Hammond, Nappanee, Kendallville | ||
U.S. Route 6 (US 6) is a part of the United States Numbered Highway that runs from California to Provincetown, Massachusetts. In Indiana, it is part of the Indiana State Road system that enters the state concurrent with the Borman Expressway between Lansing, Illinois, and Munster, Indiana. The 149.0 miles (239.8 km) of US 6 that lie within Indiana serve as a major conduit. Some sections of the highway is listed on the National Highway System. Various sections are rural two-lane highway and urbanized four-lane divided highways. The easternmost community along the highway is Butler at the Ohio state line.
Contents
US 6 passes through farm fields and forest lands, and along the northern part of Indiana. The highway is included in the Grand Army of the Republic Highway. US 6 was first designated as a US Highway in 1932. A section of the highway originally served as part of Sauk Indian Trail. US 6 replaced the original State Road 17 designation of the highway which dated back to the formation of the Indiana state road system. SR 17 ran from Ligonier through Kendallville to Waterloo and ended in Butler. US 6 also replaced the second designation of the highway, State Road 6, through most of the state.
Route description
US 6 enters Indiana concurrent with I-80/I-94 on the Borman Expressway. US 6 is concurrent with I-80/I-94 until Lake Station where US 6 leaves the expressway. US 6 heads due south towards Hobart. In Hobart US 6 turns east towards Westville. On the way to Westville the road passes through an interchange with State Road 49 and an intersection with State Road 2. In Westville the route has a concurrency with U.S. Route 421. South of Westville US 421 heads south and US 6 heads east. The route heads towards Walkerton, passing through an intersection with State Road 39, a concurrency with U.S. Route 35, and an intersection with State Road 104. In Walkerton the road has a concurrency with State Road 23. From Walkerton the route heads east towards Bremen, passing through a traffic light with U.S. Route 31.
US 6 bypasses Bremen on the north side of town. At the western terminus of the Bremen bypass US 6 has an intersection with State Road 106. Then while on the bypass, the route has an intersection with a service road at connects with State Road 331, US 6 passes over SR 331. Then at the eastern terminus of the bypass US 6 has an intersection with the eastern terminus of SR 106. From Bremen the road heads east towards Nappanee. In Nappanee the route has a traffic light at State Road 19. From Nappanee the road heads east towards Ligonier, passing through an intersection with State Road 15, a concurrency with State Road 13, and a concurrency with US 33. The concurrency with US 33 end at a traffic light with State Road 5 in Ligonier. US 33 heads south and US 6 heads east towards Kendallville. On the way to Kendallville the route has a concurrency with State Road 9. In Kendallville the road has a concurrency with State Road 3. The route heads east from Kendallville towards Waterloo. On the way to Waterloo the road has a concurrency with StateRoad 327 and an interchange with Interstate 69. The route enters Waterloo and has an intersection with State Road 427. From Waterloo the road heads east towards Butler. The road enters Butler and has an intersection with State Road 1. From Butler US 6 heads east toward Ohio state line.
Only the segment of US 6 that are concurrent with Interstate 80/Interstate 94 and the segment that is concurrent with U.S. Route 33 are included as a part of the National Highway System (NHS). The NHS is a network of highways that are identified as being most important for the economy, mobility and defense of the nation. The highway is maintained by the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) like all other U.S. Highways in the state. The department tracks the traffic volumes along all state highways as a part of its maintenance responsibilities using a metric called average annual daily traffic (AADT). This measurement is a calculation of the traffic level along a segment of roadway for any average day of the year. In 2010, INDOT figured that lowest traffic levels were the 2,620 vehicles and 930 commercial vehicles used the highway daily between US 35 and Walkerton. The peak traffic volumes were 166,160 vehicles and 42,090 commercial vehicles AADT along the section of US 6 that is concurrent with the I–80 and I–94.
History
US 6 was established in the late 1700s as the old Sauk Indian Trail also known as the Great East-West Trail. In 1843 the road between Ligonier and Kendallville became a gravel road surface. The first number was State Road 17 in 1918, from Ligonier to the Ohio state line. The rest of what is now US 6 was unsigned. The name of the road was changed to the Chicago Road in the 1920, SR 17 was still in use on this road. In 1926 signs for State Road 6 were installed from the Illinois state line to Westville and from Ligonier to Ohio state line. US 6 signs were installed and the road was paved during the summer of 1932. The rest of the road from Westville to Ligonier was under construction during this year.
Northwest Indiana
Before the route of US 6 was changed to the Borman Expressway, US 6 entered Indiana from Illinois on Ridge Road. US 6 headed east passing through Munster, Highland, and New Chicago. This route became Bus US 6 and now this route is unnumbered from Illinois to Indiana State Road 912 and is still BUS US 6 from SR 912 to US 6 in Hobart.
Bremen
SR 106 was the first route of US 6 through Bremen. Then a bypass was built around the north side of Bremen. The route through Bremen was cosigned BUS US 6 and SR 106, now it is only SR 106.