US Route 6 is nearly a nationwide route, from east-central California to Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Though the number isn't divisible by 10, US Route 6 functions as a major route, and it follows alongside several different major Interstate corridors that would usurp its prevalence.  Its route still has its own importance though, free from being overshadowed by nearby Interstates in places like northern Pennsylvania and central Nevada.

The eastern reaches of US Route 6, in New England, showcase how it got its number.  It's the route for reaching the far tip of Cape Cod, in Provincetown, Massachusetts.  From its end in Provincetown, it works its way west across southeastern Massachusetts, into Rhode Island. It skewers right through Providence, as one of only three US highways passing through Rhode Island.  US Route 6 then cuts westerly across the middle of Connecticut, through Hartford, into southeastern Upstate New York. It winds through the rugged terrain of the Catskills before continuing west across northern Pennsylvania, where the northern Pennsylvania locals want you to "Do 6", as communicated through various road signs in the state.  After more rugged terrain in Pennsylvania, US Route 6 flattens out as it enters the Midwestern States, namely Ohio to start out.  At Cleveland, US Route 6 begins to serve as a low-stress alternative to the Ohio Turnpike, staying close to the northern edge of Ohio.  US Route 6 continues west across northern Indiana, serving as the second-most northerly US Highway in the state (second to US Route 20).  Next, in Illinois, US Route 6 hugs closely along Interstate 80, staying south of Chicago. In fact, US Route 6 continues its close proximity to Interstate 80 in the next state, Iowa.  It deviates a bit south of Interstate 80's pathing across Nebraska, but in the state after that, Colorado, US Route 6 follows a different freeway, Interstate 76.  Interstate 76 and US Route 6 both dive southwesterly to the Denver area, beyond which US Route 6 hugs Interstate 70 west toward Utah.  In Utah, US Route 6 follows Interstate 70 and US Route 50 until Green River, where US Route 6 takes a northwesterly detour to Spanish Fork before drifting back southwesterly to US Route 50. At Ely in east-central Nevada, US Route 6 deviates from US Route 50, heading west-southwesterly across desolate areas of the Great Basin in Nevada.  Just after entering California, US Route 6 ends at US Route 395 in Bishop, California.  Though US Route 6 once continued all the way into the Los Angeles area, it now ends in this town, 90 miles northeast of Fresno.

My photo for US Route 6 comes from its intersection with Illinois Route 40 near Sheffield, Illinois. Sheffield is a small town located about 50 miles east of the Quad Cities, along Interstate 80.  From Sheffield east to Princeton, Illinois, US Route 6 is concurrent with US Route 34. Therefore, the guide markers shown for those on the westbound approach to the intersection mention US Route 6 and US Route 34, both routes crossing Illinois Route 40 here.  This photo was taken on a sunny November day in 2023, when I felt like driving out to the Quad Cities and Galena, Illinois.

Another photo of US Route 6 was featured on this page previously; that older photo is shown below.  It shows a northbound reassurance marker found along Indiana State Route 51. The reassurance marker is posted in sequence with another reassurance marker for Indiana State Route 51. Both are correct, as US Route 6 and Indiana State Route 51 both head north away from this junction with Indiana State Route 130, where these signs are found. This photo was taken in June 2016, as I was setting out for Columbus, Ohio, of all places.

For more on US Route 6 in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, or Ohio, you can click on the links appearing in this sentence for the requested state.

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