![[US 6]](6_old_shield_big.gif) |
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Introduction
History
The road that was to become US 6 in the Santa Clarita area was first
constructed as the Mint Canyon Road in 1921. To travel to the Antelope Valley from Los
Angeles then one would to have traveled via San Fernando Road to Saugus, Soledad Canyon
Road to Solemint and then onto the Mint Canyon Road. During this time, the road from
Mojave to Bishop was known as El Camino Sierra, or The Sierra Highway. It was also known
as the Midland Trail. In 1938, a bypass around Newhall and Saugus was built from San
Fernando Road to Soledad Canyon Road. Also during the same year, the Newhall Tunnel,
originally built in 1910, was removed and the road through Newhall Pass was widened to
four lanes. This route would remain the main highway to the north from Los Angeles to the
Antelope Valley and beyond until 1963.
Freeways
In 1963, the first segment of the Antelope Valley freeway was completed.
It extended from Solemint Junction to Red Rover Mine Road near Acton. Further segments of
the freeway were completed between 1965 and 1972. Sierra Highway (then SR-14) was also
widened into a four lane divided highway in 1968 from Solemint Junction to Newhall Pass.
The rest remained as a two lane road until being bypassed by the Antelope Valley Freeway.
Signage
The first signage along what would become US 6 in California came in 1934
in the form of a State Highway shield. SR-7, as it was known, would be signed along old US
6 from Bishop to Newhall Pass. It would be short-lived however as in 1937, US 6 was
extended from its Denver, Colorado terminus to Long Beach, California. The
routing it followed from Bishop, CA was along SR-14, I-5, SR-110, and SR-1,
finally ending at the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Atlantic Blvd
(Jct. SR-15). In 1963, US 6 was
shortened to Bishop and was resigned as SR-14 from Inyokern to Newhall Pass. The only
segment of old US 6 not to be signed as SR-14 was the segment of Sierra Highway from
Solemint Junction to Red Rover Mine Road near Acton.
Page note - The address has changed to
http://www.scvresources.com/highways/us_6/us6intro.htm
Please make a note of it.
| The following photo is a milepost on Sierra Highway at
Friendly Valley Parkway. The mileage is not correct. Here is the explanation : Mileposts in California are numbered by county. Mileage increases north and east. This milepost shows 30 miles to the end of the highway. SR-14 ends at I-5. Caltrans had planned on completing the highway from I-5 to the Pacific Coast Highway near Sunset Blvd. This is the reason for the anomaly. |
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US 6 Today
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| Mileage sign on US 6 leaving Bishop, CA | Current Mile 0 for US 6. This milepost marks the western terminus of US 6 at US 395 in Bishop. |
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| END sign for US 6 at the US 395 junction. | Typical view of US 6 in western Nevada as it approaches Montgomery Pass. |
Other US 6 Pages :
Eastern End of US 6 on Cape Cod by Dale Sanderson
Casey Cooper's Finding US 6
US Route 6 Tourist Association
Tour extends from the Newhall Pass near Los Angeles, California to the Tonopah, Nevada.
Start Tour of US 6
Return to Highways page
