California Highways:
www.cahighways.org

From Route 395 near Bishop to the Nevada state line near Montgomery Pass.

The definition of Route 6 is unchanged from the 1963 definition.

1934-1938 Sign Route 6

In 1934, State Sign Route 6 was defined to run from Santa Monica to Jct. Route 39 near Fullerton. There were two portions:

• LRN 173, which ran from LRN 60 in Santa Monica to the intersection of Ninth and Indiana Streets in Los Angeles via Tenth Street.
• LRN 166, which ran from LRN 172, at the intersection of Indiana and Third Streets, in Los Angeles, to LRN 171 near Santa Fe Springs.

This routing corresponded to the post-1938 Route 26 (LRN 173 / LRN 166). Once US 6 was established, Sign Route 6 was renumbered as Sign Route 26, and then 1934 Sign Route 26 was dropped from the state highway system. This routing was along Pico Blvd E from signed Route 3 (Lincoln) [later signed US 101A (LRN 60), now Route 1], N on Robertson to Olympic, E on Olympic to Crenshaw, N on Crenshaw, E on 10^th Street and 9^th Street, then E on Mines Ave near Huntington Park, then SE along Anaheim-Telegraph Road to Santa Fe Springs, then SE along Los Nietos Road, S on Valley View, SE on La Mirada Road to Route 39.

Post-1938 US 6

The primary component of the route that would become US 6 got its start as the early Auto Trail known as El Camino Sierra.  El Camino Sierra originally extended south from Sonora Pass towards Mojave. As time progressed, El Camino Sierra south of Mojave came to be known as Sierra Highway and continued as far south as Newhall Pass. During the American California Gold Rush, this route became a popular route of travel to Southern California.  By 1860 a new wagon road known as the Los Angeles-Inyo Road was formed to facilitate travel to the Eastern Sierra Range. An approximation of this route would eventually be adopted by the state as LRN 23, and would be signed: First as Sign Route 7, then US 6 and US 395, and then after 1964, as Route 14 and US 395. Note that the existent portion of US 6 post-1964 was actually not part of El Camino Sierra. El Camino Sierra has origins in the formation of the Inyo Good Roads Club which was founded in April of 1910.  El Camino Sierra was formally dedicated in August of 1910 during a tour of the planned route, which was attended by then California Governor James Gillett.  There is a significant amount of the history of El Camino Sierra in the blogs linked in the "Sources:" note.
(Source: Gribblenation Blog (Tom Fearer), "California State Route 14 on the Antelope Valley Freeway from CA 14/CR N2 to I–5 in Newhall Pass", May 2019; "US Route 395; Nevada State Line south to California State Route 14 (Adventure on El Camino Sierra)", July 2019)

Summarizing the El Camino Sierra history: By 1860, a new wagon road known as the Los Angeles-Inyo Road was formed to facilitate travel to the Eastern Sierra Range.  By 1861, Mono County was formed around the Mono Basin and new mining claims based largely in the original County Seat of Aurora (later found to be in Nevada).   In 1864, Coso County was was formed around the Owens Valley Region but was quickly reformed into Inyo County by 1866. In 1873, a freighter by the name of Remi Nadeau constructed the Bullion Road from the mines of Cerro Gordo southward along the eastern shores of Owens Lake to Olancha.  The new roadway connected to the already existing Los Angeles-Inyo Road, and was improved by the construction of the First Los Angeles Aqueduct that began in 1908. The name El Camino Sierra was a marketing gimmick; unlike El Camino Real it didn't have an actual Spanish analog.  The name was an attempt to promote a route as a major automotive highway in California after the formation of the American El Camino Real.  The creation of El Camino Sierra occurred alongside the expansion of LRN 23, which was broadly defined in 1901 as running from Long Barn eastward over Sonora Pass to Bridgeport.  The 1909 First State Highway Bond Act extend LRN 23 southward to Los Angeles and LRN 4 in Saugus and clarified the north terminus as Bridgeport.  LRN 23 would be further expanded northward via the planned route over Monitor Pass to LRN 11 on the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road (future south route of the Lincoln Highway and US 50). 
(Source: Gribblenation Blog (Tom Fearer), "California State Route 14 on the Antelope Valley Freeway from CA 14/CR N2 to I–5 in Newhall Pass", May 2019; "US Route 395; Nevada State Line south to California State Route 14 (Adventure on El Camino Sierra)", July 2019)

This is about when the Midland Trail comes into things. Starting in 1913, the Midland Trail was signed. The route of the Midland Trail in California originally had several branches that split away from each other on El Camino Sierra after the mainline route entered the state via Westgard Pass (now Route 168):
(Source: Gribblenation Blog (Tom Fearer), "California State Route 14 on the Antelope Valley Freeway from CA 14/CR N2 to I–5 in Newhall Pass", May 2019; "US Route 395; Nevada State Line south to California State Route 14 (Adventure on El Camino Sierra)", July 2019)

• One route went north to Tioga Pass (now Route 120) towards San Francisco.
• A second route went further north to Lake Tahoe and crossed the Sierra Range via Placerville (future US 50) towards San Francisco.
• A third route went south and went through Tehachapi Pass (now Route 58) into San Joaquin Valley with an ultimate terminus of San Francisco.  This spur of the Midland Trail appears to have been initially planned to be routed over a new highway over Piute Pass (unbuilt Route 168) on a short-cut to Fresno.
• The fourth route continued down El Camino Sierra towards Los Angeles.  This fourth route ultimately would become what was considered the mainline of the Midland Trail.

Paving of LRN 23 to the Newhall Pass was completed around 1931-1932, although the maps show the road was clearly defined by 1924. In 1934, the entirety of El Camino Sierra on LRN 23 and LRN 95 was signed as part of Sign Route 7. However, by the time Sign Route 7 was announced, the extension of US 395 southward into California had already been approved (AASHO approved it in June 1934).  US 395 would assume Sign Route 7 from the Oregon State Line, and much of El Camino Sierra southward to Bradys possibly as early as October 1934.

In 1938, US 6 was extended into California. Prior to 1938, US 6 had a consistent Eastern terminus (Provincetown MA), but was slowing being extended westward, ending in Erie PA (1927-1931) and then Greeley CO (1932-1937). In 1937, it was extended to end in Long Beach, CA. In 1964, the Western end of US 6 was truncated to Bishop CA. Between the Nevada State Line and US 395, the new US 6 followed LRN 76 via Montgomery Pass, and had been part of a segment of Sign Route 168.
(Source: Gribblenation Blog (Tom Fearer): "The western end of US Route 6 and Laws Depot on the Carson & Colorado Railway", 9/2018)

As for Sign Route 7: What was left of Sign Route 7 after US 395 and US 6 was signed ran from US 99 down to US 101A (former Sign Route 3) near the Los Angeles Airport along LRN 158. LRN 158 was Saugus Blvd, Sepulveda Blvd, and Sawtelle—and was later replaced by the San Diego Freeway, as I-405 after 1964.

The pre-1964 US 6 was assembled from a collection of existing legislative routes, most of which already had state sign route signage or US highway signage:

• US 6 began at Pacific Coast Highway (nee State Street) in Long Beach at Atlantic Bl (Sign Route 15). After the extension of US 91 in 1947, Atlantic Blvd was also the start of US 91 (or terminus, depending on how you look at it, but we do our best to follow state convention and work south to north, west to east). US 6 ran W from Atlantic Blvd (Sign Route 15) [and later, the Long Beach Freeway when Sign Route 15 was moved to the Long Beach Freeway], cosigned with US 101A, until reaching Figueroa (also Sign Route 11). After the Harbor Freeway was constructed, US 6 was routed on the Harbor Freeway (Route 11, now I-110). This segment was part of the 1919 definition of LRN 60. Note that E of Sign Route 15 (Atlantic/Long Beach Freeway), US 91 was cosigned with US 101A until the Los Alamitos Traffic Circle, where US 91 continued N along State Sign Route 19 and Sign Route 18.
  (Source: Gribblenation Blog (Tom Fearer), "Los Alamitos Traffic Circle; current California State Route 1/former US Route 101 Alternate and US Route 91", February 2022; US Ends: "Historic US highway endpoint in Long Beach, CA")
  • Note: Some claim the US 6 ran beyond Atlantic Avenue to the Los Alamitos Traffic Circle. Some oral and written recollections indicate this, although there are no maps from the time that show it. All indications are that US 6 ended at Atlantic. It is clear that US 91, after it was extended to Long Beach in 1947, was the only co-sign between Atlantic Avenue and the traffic circle in 1948, as shown by the 1948 state highway map inset. Before then, US 6 is labeled W of Atlantic Blvd, but there is no label E of Atlantic. Looking at other maps of Long Beach prior to 1947: none of these seem to label highways with highway numbers (that appears not to have been the convention). There's a plaque commemorating the end of US 6 at the Long Beach Terrace Theatre, but it was moved there from the Municipal Auditorium, and the Municipal Auditorium was neither at Atlantic Avenue nor the traffic circle. Using Occam's Razor, it is reasonable to ask why the US 6 designation would have gone to the traffic circle. It is clear it didn't go there after the designation of US 91—the state highway map shows that. Before 1947, the traffic circle wasn't significant in terms of state highway numbers: It represented where LRN 60 turned to the SE (signed US101A), and Sign Route 19 started N (as LRN 168). Proceeding E along LRN 60 (US 101A) from where US 6 joined US 101A at LRN 165, the first state highway encountered was Sign Route 15, LRN 167, at Atlantic. Given the extension of US 6 was defined to end in Long Beach, and this is the heart of Long Beach, logic would have the US 6 signage end there. In short, in the absence of evidence, the conclusion is that US 6 signage ended at Sign Route 15 (or, if you are defining the route from the southern/westernmost point, it likely started there).
• US 6 then ran N along LRN 165, cosigned as Sign Route 11/US 6, to US 101/US 66. When first signed, it was along Vermont Avenue while LRN 165 was along Figueroa (at least that is what the 1938 State Highway map inset shows); oddly, Vermont is not shown as state highway while Figueroa is shown as LRN 165. However, by the 1940 state highway map, both Sign Route 11 and US 6 are shown running along Figueroa, LRN 165. US 6 continued NNE along LRN 165 (roughly present-day Route 110). N of the Sunset/Macy interchange (US 101), US 66 was added to the cosign [US 66 entered from the E along Colorado Street, and then turned S along Figueroa into Los Angeles, and after it was extended to Santa Monica, it continued along Sunset (cosigned with US 101) to Santa Monica Blvd, where it traveled W possibly co-signed with Sign Route 2]. The segment along Figueroa was part of the 1933 definition of LRN 165.
• US 6 departed Figueroa at W Avenue 26, heading W to San Fernando Road. This was part of the 1909 definition of LRN 4.
  • Pre-US 6 history in this area is harder. San Fernando Road starts at Pasadena Avene, roughly parallel with Ave 20. It then heads W, curing up to along the railroad tracks at the edge of the LA River to meet Ave 26. The routing from Pasadena Avenue was shown as a significant route (state highways were not always clear within the cities) through the 1934 map; by the 1936 map, the routing has moved to Ave 26. Further, by 1936-1937, LRN 206, the future Arroyo Seco Parkway, is shown. An additional factor in all of this is the rerouting that occurred in US 99, originally defined in 1926. US 99 was originally routed into Los Angeles along the Foothill / Colorado / Michigan routing of LRN 9 (future Sign Route 118, future US 66). There are some documents from this era showing US 66 meeting US 99 in San Fernando, but this is when specific routes in the city were a bit loose. The map also seems to imply that US 99 may have gone across Colorado to San Fernando Road (the specific signage is unclear).
  • It is clear that after 1934, US 99 moved from the LRN 9 routing to LRN 26. A Division of Highways letter to the AASHO dated September 6, 1934 indicates US 99 was to be moved onto LRN 26/Ramona Boulevard. pending AASHO approval. A similar letter from the Division of Highways two days prior details the realignment of US 99 off of LRN 9 (and multiplex of US Route 66) onto LRN 26.
  • LRN 26 was also a shifting route: Signage within the cities is hard to determine from state highway maps, but the 1934 map seems to show it along Valley, Alhambra, Mission, and Brooklyn. By 1936, US 99 was rerouted to LRN 26. Valley was seemingly renamed Pomona (and was LRN 77), although it later returned to being Valley. LRN 26 ran along Garvey into downtown Los Angeles, where it met Soto. At this point, LRN 4 met LRN 26.
  • LRN 4 ran from US 101, LRN 2, at Whittier and Soto up Soto to Marengo, across Marengo to Daly, from Daly to Ave 26, and then from Ave 26 to San Fernando Road.
  • After LRN 26 and US 99 was rerouted to Ramona Blvd, the routing was similar: Along the cosigned US 60/US 70 along Ramona Blvd (LRN 26) to the intersection of Marengo and Soto, from there US 99 ran along LRN 4 along Maengo Street, Daly Street, and Ave. 26, to San Fernando Road.
• US 6 was co-signed with US 99 along San Fernando Road from Figueroa (LRN 165) to LRN 23 (Sierra Highway). This was also part of the 1909 definition of LRN 4. While the freeway was under construction, the routing of US 6 varied along with US 99:
  • By 1959, the future I-5 was completed between Glendale and Burbank. At this point, US 6 / US 99 were moved onto the freeway segment, and LRN 4 was moved off of San Fernando Road. LRN 4 ran N along San Fernando Road (LRN 4) to Colorado Blvd. It then turned W along Colorado Blvd (LRN 4 / LRN 161), picking up the new US 99 freeway (LRN 4), where it continued NW to Alameda Ave in Burbank, where the freeway ended. Then then ran NE along Alameda (LRN 161) back to San Fernando Road, where it continued NNW. There were no changes to the LRN 4 general definition for this. The LRN 161 portion along Colorado was defined in 1933, and after 1964 became Route 163, and then a spur of Route 134, and finally unsigned Route 5S. The LRN 161 portion along Alameda Street was part of the 1933 definition of LRN 161 (amended in 1947), and was part of Sign Route 134 until the freeway was completed.
  • By 1960, the future I-5 appears to have been completed to roughly where Buena Vista and Winona meet in Burbank, eliminating the portion of LRN 4 along Alameda Ave and San Fernando.
  • By 1962, the future I-5 was completed to Lankershim, LRN 157. At this point, US 99 / US 6 left the freeway at Lankershim, jogged N to San Fernando, and then continued along LRN 4 NNW. The 1959 extension of LRN 161 had been extended S as far as Glendale Blvd, but the US 6 / US 99 signage appears not to have been extended along it yet.
  • By 1963, the 1959 extension of LRN 161 was completed between Glendale and Figueroa. At this point, US 99 / US 6 was moved to the new LRN 161. LRN 4 remained along San Fernando, with no signage identified. In 1964, that section of LRN 4 was renumbered as part of Route 163.
• In the Newhall Area, there were also some varied routings of US 6:
  • LRN 4 originally continued along San Fernando Road out of Sylmar. Originally, it continued as San Fernando Road through the Newhall Tunnel along what is now Sierra Highway, making a turn NNW before Placerita Canyon at San Fernando Road (now Newhall Ave).
  • The Newhall Tunnel was constructed on LRN 4. The tunnel was only 17' 5" wide, and accommodated two lanes of traffic.Tunnel construction started in September 1907, and was located slightly W of the existing Beale's Cut. By January 1909, the Highway Commission approved plans for a tunnel, with funding from Los Angeles County bonds. The tunnel was officially opened on December 21, 1910. The total length of the finished tunnel was 435 feet. It was 17 feet high and 17 feet 5 inches wide. It was about 200 feet below the summit and about 250 feet below Beale's Cut. The road grade was reduced from about 26 % through the Cut to about 6 % through the tunnel. The tunnel also had no lighting. In October 1929, modifications were made to the alignment of the just north of the tunnel. Until 1930, the road going north exited the tunnel and turned to the right (east) onto today's Clampitt Road. Then the road followed a wide loop to where it runs into today's Sierra Highway and continued on to Newhall. The new road went straight north from the tunnel to the point where Remsen Road joins Sierra Highway, basically following today's alignment, shortening and straightening the road. This modification was finished in June of 1930. However, the tunnel proved to be a significant traffic bottleneck due to its narrow dimensions.
    (Source: Elsmere Canyon Newhall Tunnel page)
  • LRN 4 continued NNW along San Fernando Road/Newhall Avenue, veering off onto San Fernando Road/Railroad Avenue. At Saugus Ventura Road / Ridge Route Highway (now Magic Mountain Parkway), the connection to the Ridge Route started, with LRN 4 following Saugus Ventura Road / Ridge Route Highway (Magic Mountain Parkway) over to Castaic Junction (where Route 126 and I-5 meet today). The 1935 definition of LRN 4 captured this additional segment as "A point at Santa Clara River bridge, on that portion of [LRN 4] described in subdivision [1] of this section, to Saugus." Chapter 194 extended this spur definition to Newhall by changing the wording of [2] to “to [LRN 23] near Newhall via Saugus”. US 99 and US 6 (and Sign Route 7) ran co-signed along San Fernando Road to the LRN 4 Ridge Route cutoff, where US 99 then followed LRN 4, and US 6/Sign Route 7 followed LRN 23.
  • The definition of LRN 23 started at this point, continuing along San Fernando Road / Bouquet Canyon Road (it changed to Bouquet Canyon Road at the LRN 4 connection) to Sierra Highway (now Soledad Canyon Road). LRN 23 continued Sierra Highways (Soledad Canyon Road) to Solemint. In Solemint, LRN 23 then transitioned to the current Sierra Highway E/N towards Palmdale. Sign Route 7 was signed along LRN 23, adding the US 6 mantle when US 6 was defined in 1937.
    • A small portion of Bouquet Canyon Road north from Saugus Junction to Soledad Canyon Road would be added to the State Highway System as part of the 1909 First State Highway Bond Act.  Said act extended LRN 23 south from Bridgeport in Mono County to Saugus in Los Angeles County.  The corridor of LRN 23 flanking the eastern frontage of the Sierra Nevada range has historically been promoted as "El Camino Sierra.". This segment was also part of the Roosevelt Midland Trail. The Auto Trail would branch away from Bouquet Canyon Road a short distance north of Saugus Junction onto Soledad Canyon Road (towards Mint Canyon). The collapse of St. Francis Dam ultimately revealed that it was constructed atop a previously unknown fault line.  Subsequently the Los Angeles Department of Public Works would allocate $5,000,000 to construct a new dam in the Sierra Pelona Mountains of Santa Barbara National Forest (renamed to Los Padres National Forest on December 3, 1936) along upper Bouquet Canyon.  The project required the relocation of part of Bouquet Canyon Road to make way to for the dam and reservoir site. By 1935, the segment between Saugus Junction and Mint Canyon was as part of Sign Route 7 and LRN 23. Sign Route 7 (later US 6) was moved off of Bouquet Canyon Road when the Mint Canyon Cutoff was completed around 1938.
      (Source: Gribblenation Blog, "Bouquet Canyon Road (Los Angeles County)", 4/24/2026)
  • Around 1930, construction on the Weldon Canyon Cutoff began. When that was completed, LRN 4 was moved off San Fernando Road/Newhall Ave to the new alignment. This lightened traffic through the Newhall Tunnel somewhat, and led to the removal of the spur along the Saugus Ventura Road (Magic Mountain Parkway) and San Fernando Road from the definition of LRN 4, the extension of the definition of LRN 79 to terminate at "[LRN 23] via Castaic Junction and Saugus" (which moved Saugus Ventura Road to LRN 79), and LRN 23 was extended to meet LRN 4 at the start of the Weldon Canyon Cutoff (where The Old Road and Sierra Highway split off of San Fernando Road today). As LRN 23 had been defined as "From Los Angeles", no legislative changes to LRN 23 were required.
  • In 1938-1940, the cutoff across Mint Canyon (Mint Canyon Short Cut Route) was constructed through the Newhall Pass (Mint Canyon) and between San Fernando Road and Sierra Highway in Newhall and Sierra Highway (Soledad Canyon Road) in Solemint (Placerita Canyon). Details of the construction can be found in the Elsemere Canyon Newhall Cut page and the November 1938 issue of CHPW and the March 1940 CHPW. The Elsemere Canyon page notes that "On May 5, 1938, the state awarded a contract for construction and improvement of the highway between Tunnel Station and Placerita Canyon to the Griffith Company of Los Angeles. From Tunnel Station to the intersection of Sierra Highway and Newhall Avenue, the construction would follow the existing road. From there, a new road would be built to Placerita Canyon. The construction from Placerita Canyon to Solemint was part of a different contract." Upon completion, the new road was named as a continuation of Sierra Highway, and the older routing from Solemint to Saugus renamed Soledad Canyon Road. The Sierra Highway name was also applied to the segment from San Fernando Road / Newhall Avenue through the Newhall Pass to the start of the Mint Canyon Cutoff (the current Old Road / Sierra Highway / San Fernando Road junction); it is unclear whether the original name in the tunnel era was San Fernando Road or Sierra Highway. LRN 23 was rerouted along the new Sierra Highway and was signed as US 6, connecting it with the former LRN 4 portion along San Fernando/Sierra to Tunnel Station. LRN 79 ran along Soledad Canyon Road to Sierra Highway. As for the segment along San Fernando Road (Newhall Ave / Railroad) between Soledad Canyon and Sierra Highway: Maps show it as part of the state highway system, but don't provide the detail to indicate if it was a spur of LRN 23 or a spur of LRN 79. 
• From Soledad Canyon Road and Sierra Highway in Solemint, LRN 23 ran along ran northerly to US 395 signed as US 6 until the junction with US 395. This segment of LRN 23 was added to the state highway system in 1911. Note that US 6 was never signed along the freeway version of Route 14.
  • N of Silver Queen Road, N of Rosamond, the surface Sierra Highway (former US 6) merges into the existing Route 14 expressway into Mojave
  • In Mojave, US 6 (LRN 23) met US 466 (LRN 58, today’s Route 58)
  • At the bottom of Mojave, US 466 continued E through Boron and Barstow. Through Mojave, US 466 and US 6 were cosigned. At the top of Mojave, US 6 exited to the NE, with US 466 continuing N and then E to Bakersfield through the Tehachapi Pass. Note that the Tehachapi Pass routing was the main routing to Los Angeles before the Ridge Route was constructed
  • Today, Route 14 follows the former US 6 routing along LRN 23. BR 58 follows the former US 466 routing on LRN 58, as a new bypass freeway routing for Route 58 was constructed in 1996
• US 6 then continued cosigned as US 395/US 6 (still LRN 23) until Bishop. This segment of LRN 23 was defined in 1909.
  • Note: In Olancha, S of Falls Road, there is a street named "Old State Highway". This connects to Walker Creek Road. It is unclear when this segment went out of service.
  • Additionally, in Olancha in 2025, US 395 was moved to a new bypass alignment. A new connector was constructed at the southern end to provide a connection between the new US 395 and the old US 395. At the completion of the project, that connector and old US 395 to Route 190 in Olancha was to be redesgnated as Route 190 and Business Route 395. The portion of old US 395 N of the Route 190 junction in Olancha would be relinquished to the county (but presumably be labeled BR 395). The portion of old US 395 from N Haiwee Road to the original southern connection with US 395 would be permanently removed. This old US 395 alignment is former US 6.
• US 6 continued from Bishop to the Nevada State Line. This segment was LRN 76, and was added to the state highway system in 1931 (Chapter 82). This segment was originally signed as part of state Sign Route 168. This was an eastern extension of Sign Route 168 from its present-day terminus in Bishop. LRN 76 largely followed the path of the Carson & Colorado Railway east of Bishop over the 7,100 foot Montgomery Pass to the Nevada State Line. Sign Route 168 east of the Sierras was cut back to US 395/US 6 in Bishop when US 6 was extended into California in 1937. After the 1964 renumbering, Route 168 was extended when it was routed east of US 395 to Oasis at Route 266.

US 6 on the Hollywood Freeway

It appears that in the 1962-1963 time period, the Division of Highways had plans to change the routing of US 6 to move it off the Golden State Freeway (US 99, later I-5) and onto the Hollwyood Freeway (Route 170 and US 101). Some maps jumped the signage gun and showed US 6 running along US 101 and Lankershim Blvd (LRN 159) (as demonstrated by the map to the right and the additional information presented on Michael Ballard's site, showing US 6 along Lankershim, together with a short stub on the southern end of Route 170). However, it does not appear that there was any signage in the field along Lankershim. Construction on the extension of the Hollywood Freeway from the US 101/Route 134 North Hollywood interchange north to the Golden State (I-5) freeway in the Arleta district of the San Fernando Valley began in late 1962; under the old numbering system, US 6 was to be rerouted off I-5/US 99 south of Arleta and down the new freeway, and multiplexing SE from N. Hollywood with US 101 to the 4-Level Interchange in downtown L.A., and picking up US 66 in Hollywood for a "triplex" NW of the 4-Level. In fact, as the new "extension" was constructed, signage was briefly placed for US 6 on the southern end of future Route 170. It was planned to temporarily route US 6 down Lankershim Blvd. (LRN 159, the existing route to be replaced by the new freeway extension) to US 101 in the interim while the rest of future Route 170 was constructed. The plans were to place that signage in late 1963; however, those plans were put on hold when it was decided in the spring of 1963 to renumber the entire system, effective 1/1/64. Under those plans, US 6 was going to be truncated back to Bishop under the new system, replacing signage for three or four months was deemed pointless. In fact, US 6 was truncated out of the City of Los Angeles when the first freeway segments of the Antelope Valley Freeway, future Route 14, opened. But plans, showing the planned signage on Lankershim were transmitted to the cartography departments of Gousha and McNally; and Gousha included that signage in their 1963 editions. In conjunction with the discussion of this on the AARoads forum, there was some debate as to whether US 6 was ever signed on the portions of the Antelope Valley Freeway opened before 1964, as the Route 14 number was in use elsewhere in the system (Sign Route 14 became Route 91, but was not part of US 91)
(Source: Scott Parker on AAroads, "Re: U.S. 6 being signed on U.S. 101, on the Hollywood Freeway, confusion.", 11/24/2017; Michael Ballard, email and website, 7/16/2020; Email from Mark Furqueron 12/31/2024, AARoads Discussion "US 6 and the Hollywood Freeway", April 2013)

Colorado Street Extension (Route 5S)

The Colorado Street Freeway Extension (Route 5S) opened in 1958 as the Golden State Freeway (then US 99, US 6 and I-5) was being constructed.  The Colorado Freeway Extension would serve as a temporary realignment of US 99/US 6 off of San Fernando Road and new alignment of Sign Route 134.  US 99 and US 6 followed the Colorado Street Freeway Extension to San Fernando Road until the Golden State Freeway was completed to the San Bernardino Freeway in 1962.  The Colorado Street Freeway Extension would be assigned as part of the original 1964 incarnation of Route 163, but was quickly folded into a Route 134 Spur by 1965.  The corridor would be assigned as part of Route 5S when the Ventura Freeway extension reached Route 2 (then at Verdugo Road) in 1969. Note: The Colorado Street Extension is a formally suffixed route in the Postmile System (Route 5S), as opposed to having "S" postmiles (i.e., 07-LA-005 S0.0).
(Source: Gribblenation Blog (Tom Fearer), "The Colorado Street Freeway Extension (Interstate 5 Spur in Glendale and Los Angeles)", 2/2024)

As originally defined, Colorado Street ended at San Fernando Road (US 99 / LRN 4) in the city Glendale.  Colorado Street became a component of LRN 161 in 1933 after the state began to allow the Division of Highways to maintain State Highways in incorporated cities.  When sign routes were announced in 1934,  Sign Route 134 westbound followed a multiplex of US 99/LRN 4 on San Fernando Road from the end of Colorado Street in Glendale to Alameda Avenue in Burbank. US 99 along San Fernando Road would be joined by an extended US 6 beginning in 1937. In 1955, construction began on the Golden State Freeway corridor between the Santa Ana Freeway and Hollywood Freeway; this would be an eventual rerouting of US 99/US 6/LRN 4, and the route would take it through the cities of Glendale and Burbank. By 1958, the Colorado Boulevard Interchange was under construction to connect Sign Route 134 via LRN 4 to US 99/US 6 on the Golden State Freeway over the Los Angeles River extending it from San Fernando Road in Glendale. By 1959, the Golden State Freeway was completed between Alameda Avenue in Burbank south to Glendale Boulevard in Los Angeles. US 99/US 6 followed an interim alignment on LRN 4 originating at San Fernando Road in Burbank, west on Alameda Avenue, south on the Golden State Freeway and east on the Colorado Street Freeway Extension to San Fernando Road in Glendale.  Route 134 followed an interim multiplex of US 99/US 6/LRN 4 on the Golden State Freeway between Colorado Street north to Alameda Avenue.  South of Colorado Boulevard to Glendale Street, the Golden State Freeway was part of LRN 161. The completion of the Golden State Freeway from Lankershim Boulevard to the Santa Ana Freeway in 1962 resulted in the realignment of US 99 to follow I-5/LRN 4 on the Golden State Freeway directly to the San Bernardino Freeway, bypassing the Pasadena Freeway and Santa Ana Freeway through downtown Los Angeles.  At this time, the Colorado Street Freeway Extension was a spur of LRN 4 and solely signed as Route 134.  This segment became part of Route 163, only to go away in 1965 when it became a spur of Route 134. With the completion of the Ventura Freeway Extension from I-5 east to Route 2 at Verdugo Road in 1969, Route 134 was rerouted off of Colorado Street in downtown Glendale north on Route 2/Verdugo Road to the new segment of the Ventura Freeway.  The Colorado Street Freeway Extension was renumbered as Route 5S (note: it is not I-5S, as it was never a formal part of the Interstate system)
(Source: Gribblenation Blog (Tom Fearer), "The Colorado Street Freeway Extension (Interstate 5 Spur in Glendale and Los Angeles)", 2/2024)

US 6 Across Tioga Pass

It also appears that an alternative routing for US 6 was proposed at the time of its adoption in 1935. This alternative routing would have crossed Tioga Pass and continued to San Francisco. A June 1935 sketch map from the Division of Highways shows US 6 with two proposed alignments in California.  The first alignment shows US 6 entering California near via then Route 168 near Benton.  US 6 is shown terminating to the south at Long Beach by way of Owens Valley and Los Angeles.  The Benton-Long Beach proposed alignment of US 6 was a violation of the numbering conventions where even numbers denoted routes with a cardinal east/west orientation. An alternative proposed alignment of US 6 to San Francisco via Tioga Pass would have maintained the east/west orientation.  The Tioga Pass-San Francisco alignment of US 6 is shown entering California via Route 168 to Benton, encompassing all of Route 120 west to Manteca, US 99W/LRN 66 to Lathrop, US 50/LRN 5 over Altamont Pass to Hayward, LRN 105 from Hayward to the original 1929 San Mateo-Hayward Bridge, west over San Francisco Bay via the 1929 San Mateo-Hayward Bridge and north via multiplex of US 101/LRN 2 into downtown San Francisco.  The AASHTO Database does not provide an explanation as to why US 6 to San Francisco via Tioga Pass passed over in favor of the proposed extension to Long Beach.  Only the proposal to extend US 6 to Long Beach appears on the 1936 AASHO list of recommended additions to the US Route System. A letter dated February 8th, 1937 by the AASHO Executive Secretary to the State Highway Engineers of; Colorado, Nevada and California formally announced the approved extension of US 6 from Greeley, Colorado to Long Beach, California.  The Merced Chamber of Commerce subsequently requested the alternative route be added to US 6, requesting that the proposed US 6A depart from Yosemite National Park via Route 140 via the Yosemite-All Year Highway (completed between Mariposa and El Portal during July 1926) which would have it pass through the City of Merced.  The Merced Chamber of Commerce proposal cited a continuation of US 6A westward via Route 152 over Pacheco Pass and US 101 into San Francisco. The AASHO Executive Secretary noted in respond in October 1937 that alternate US Routes were no longer being considered by the AASHO Executive Committee, and the Merced Chamber of Commerce did not pursue the matter further (however, AASHTO did go on to designate alternative US routes, notably US 101A in California).
(Source/Image Source: Gribblenation Blog (Tom Fearer), “Paper Highways; US Route 6 to San Francisco via Tioga Pass”, 11/2021)

In June 2017, it was reported that one of the bridges used by former US 6 (Sierra Highway) that crossed the Santa Clara River near Solemint, California would be replaced. The bridge, constructed in 1938, was one of the oldest remaining in the Santa Clarita area and was the longest span on former US 6 in California. The particular bridge was relatively unchanged from when it first opened.  When the highway was widened, a second bridge for northbound traffic was added, with the original bridge being used for southbound traffic. The bridges were bypassed when traffic was moved to the Route 14 alignment (~ 07-LA-14 R031.88). The 2011 CEQA NOD notes the bridge number as 53C1777L&R. The initial CEQA MND study noted that "The Proposed Project will widen the northbound bridge deck and replace the southbound bridge on Sierra
Highway over the Santa Clara River. The northbound section of the bridge will be widened from the existing 43 feet to 52 feet without adding additional travel lanes. The 44-foot wide southbound concrete bridge will be replaced with a 52-foot wide concrete bridge." Planning for the bridge replacement went back to the early 2000s, with initial environmental reports published in 2003. The 2003 report noted: "Up until 1968 Sierra Highway was a two-lane roadway with one two-lane bridge over the Union Pacific Railroad tracks that was constructed in 1938. In 1968 Sierra Highway was widened to thee lanes in each direction. To accommodate the widened roadway a second bridge was built to the west of the existing bridge. The 1938 bridge became the nortbound lanes for Sierra Highway and was restriped with thee substandard 10-foot wide lanes. The 1968 bridge provides thee standard 12-foot wide southbound lanes for Sierra Highway. Currently, there exists an 8 to 12-foot gap between the two bridges." An updated Notice of Determination was issued in 2015.  As of 2018, the bridge was no longer in the District 7 Bridge Log. Michael Ballard has a nice photo essay on his site.
(Sources: Michael Ballard, "US 6 – Santa Clara River Bridge – A Closer Look", June 2017; indicated and cited CEQA documents)

In October 2017, the CTC approved for future consideration of funding a project that proposes to widen shoulders and add rumble strips on US 6, near Bishop in Inyo and Mono counties (09-Iny-6, PM 4.3/8.4, 09-Mno-6, PM 0.0/0.8). This project is fully funded and programmed in the 2016 SHOPP for $6.2 million which includes Construction (capital and support) and Right-of-Way (capital and support). Construction is estimated to begin in Fiscal Year 2017-18. The scope, as described for the preferred alternative, is consistent with the project scope programmed by the Commission in the 2016 SHOPP.
(Source: October 2017 CTC Agenda Item 2.2c.(1))

In 1937, it was proposed that US 6, from Provincetown MA to Los Angeles CA be designed the Grand Army of the Republic Highway. In 1943, the California Department of Transportation adopted the name Grand Army of the Republic Highway for US 6. According to CalTrans in March 1994, the Grand Army route is now US 6, then US 395 to Route 14, Route 14 to I-5, I-5 to I-110, and then south to San Pedro. A monument marking the western terminus of the Grand Army Highway may be found on the wall on the S side of Ocean Avenue, in front of the Terrace Theatre. It was named by Assembly Concurrent Resolution 33, Chapter 73, in 1943.
(Image Source: Clamshack on Flikr)

One map from 1938 shows US 6 as being named the "Roosevelt" Highway.

ACR 26 requested the Department of Transportation, upon application by an interested local agency or private entity, to identify any section of former U.S. Highway Route 6 that is still a publicly maintained highway and that is of interest to the applicant, and to designate that section as Historic U.S. Highway Route 6. Chaptered July 3, 2007. Resolution Chapter 67.

US 6

• California Highways Route by Route Podcast:
  • Ep 3.11: CA RxR 3.11: US 6: A Major Route no More
• Casey Cooper's Finding US 6
• Michael Ballard:
  • Virtual Tour of US 6
  • US 6 Route Log (XLS) (Newhall Pass to the Nevada State Line near Benton, CA)
  • SR-14U Sierra Highway
• Floodgap Roadgap's Summer of 6
• California @ AARoads: US 6
• USEnds (Dale Sanderson): End of US highway 6
• Gribblenation Blog (Tom Fearer):
  • Los Alamitos Traffic Circle; current California State Route 1/former US Route 101 Alternate and US Route 91
  • The Colorado Street Freeway Extension (Interstate 5 Spur in Glendale and Los Angeles)
  • Legend of the Ridge Route; a history of crossing the mountains between the Los Angeles Basin and San Joaquin Valley from wagon trails to Interstates
  • California State Route 14 on the Antelope Valley Freeway from CA 14/CR N2 to I–5 in Newhall Pass
  • California State Route 14U (former US Route 6 on Sierra Highway)
  • Bouquet Canyon Road (Los Angeles County)
  • US Route 395; Nevada State Line south to California State Route 14 (Adventure on El Camino Sierra)
  • California State Route 120; US Route 6 west to US Route 395
  • The western end of US Route 6 and Laws Depot on the Carson & Colorado Railway
  • Paper Highways; US Route 6 to San Francisco via Tioga Pass
• Route 6 Tourist Association
  

1934-1935 Sign Route 6

• Gribblenation Blog (Tom Fearer): California State Route 6 and the second California State Route 26

[SHC 253.1] Entire route. Added to the Freeway and Expressway system in 1959. Note that although the route is legislatively designated as freeway, it is not constructed to freeway standards (i.e., there are grade crossings).

Overall statistics for Route 6:

• Total Length (1995): 41 miles
• Average Daily Traffic (1992): 800 to 3,100
• Mileage Classification: Rural: 41.
• Previous Federal Aid Mileage: FAP: 41 mi.
• Functional Classification: Minor Arterial: 41 mi.
• Counties Traversed: Inyo and Mono.

The portions of this route corresponding to present day Route 14 were part of the Midland Trail. The portions of this route cosigned with US 99 were part of the National Parks to Parks Highway.

US 6 has historic ties to El Camino Sierra.

[SHC 164.10] Entire route.

The routing that would become LRN 6 was defined in the 1909 First Highway Bonds, running from Sacramento to Woodland Junction. It was extended in 1933 to run from [LRN 8] near Napa to Winters via Wooden Valley and Berryessa Valley. By 1935, the routing had been codified as being:

1. Sacramento to Woodland Junction
2. [LRN 8] near Napa to Winters via Wooden Valley and Berryessa Valley.

Only the first segment was considered a primary route.

In 1939, Chapter 473 changed the reference to "Woodland Junction" to [LRN 7]. In 1957, Chapter 36 filled the gap between the two segments, changing the second segment to read "[LRN 8] near Napa to [LRN 90] near Winters".

In 1959, Chapter 1062 added the north bypass of Napa, changing the second segment again to “[LRN 49] near Napa to [LRN 7] near Davis”. This seemingly deleted the portion of LRN 6 from LRN 8 to the proposed N Bypass of Napa from the state highway system, although it seemed to be treated as a spur of LRN 6 until the N bypass was constructed—and by 1964, that distinction became moot as that segment became part of Route 121.

Note that tracking the LRNs in this area becomes confusing because in the 1980s, the Napa River Bridge and a new Route 29 freeway bypassed the segment of Route 29 near Napa from Route 29 near Soscol Road to Route 121 at Imola Avenue. The bypassed segment—a portion of former LRN 8—had signage changed. The short segment that was former LRN 8, and was signed as Route 121/Route 29/Route 12 became simply Route 121, with Route 29/Route 12 (legislatively Route 29) moving to the new freeway. The portion of former LRN 8 from now simply Route 121 to the new Route 29/Route 12 freeway became went from being Route 121 to Route 221, with Route 121 continuing N from the Route 121/Route 221 junction. At this time, the unconstructed N bypass of Napa added in 1959 was silently deleted.

Signage on the route was as follows:

1. From LRN 7 to Sacramento.

   This segment was signed as US 99W/US 40, and had a routing that approximates the original I-80. Starting at 15^th and N St. in Sacramento, it ran out of the city on N Street. It continued W until reaching the US 40/Alt. US 40 junction (approximately the present-day I-80/Route 113 junction) SW of Davis. This 15 mi segment was defined in 1909. The portion between present-day Route 160 and I-80 is signed as Business Route 80, and is real Route 50. Part of this is Route 275.

   According to a CTC vacation resolution in January 2005, Capitol Mall (formerly LRN 6, which was signposted as US 40) was the principal route for traffic traveling between Sacramento and San Francisco resulting in high volumes of inter-regional and local traffic using the same corridor. Upon completion of the freeway system in Sacramento, inter-regional traffic on Capitol Mall was almost completely eliminated.

2. From LRN 49 near Napa to LRN 7 near Davis.

   Post-1959, LRN 6 started at a junction with LRN 49 (the present Route 29), and created a north bypass of Napa, where it joined what had been Sign Route 37 (present-day Route 121). However, the N bypass of Napa (the first iteration of Route 221) was never constructed, and was deleted in 1984 when Route 221 was rerouted to the segment from the E side of Napa at Route 121 to the new Route 29/Route 12 freeway with the construction of the Napa River Bridge.

   LRN 6, this time the portion defined in 1933, continued along Sign Route 37, now Route 121, north to the point where it met Sign Route 28, later Sign Route 128.

   Between the Sign Route 37/Sign Route 28 junction (now the Route 121/Route 128 junction) and Winters, the segment was originally signed as Sign Route 28; in 1952 it was resigned as Sign Route 128, and it remains Route 128 today from present-day I-505 W of Davis to the junction with pre-1964 Route 37 (present-day Route 121). This segment was added in 1933.

   LRN 6 was extended on paper between I-505 in Winters and Route 113 in 1959.

The third iteration of the Lincoln Highway was routed out of Sacramento to the West along LRN 6 and LRN 7. It diverted to use Route 12 (LRN 8) and Route 29 (LRN 74) to return to LRN 7 near Vallejo, where it met LRN 14 to LRN 5, where it then crossed into San Francisco (originally via the Ferry, and later the Oakland Bay Bridge on LRN 68). The route originally terminated in Lincoln Park, six miles west of the ferry landing at the foot of Market Street. The Lincoln Highway ended opposite the Palace of the Legion of Honor at a small monument marking the spot. The last few miles (of the highway) were California Street.

The portion of this route between Oakland and Sacramento (LRN 6, LRN 7 and LRN 14), as well as the former US 99E portion to Red Bluff (LRN 3), was part of the National Park to Park Highway.

• ⦅Routing⦆
• ⦅Post 1964 Signage History⦆
• ⦅Pre 1964 Signage History⦆
  • 1934-1938 Sign Route 6
  • Post-1938 US 6
• ⦅Status⦆
• ⦅Naming⦆
• ⦅Historical Route⦆
• ⦅Other WWW Links⦆
  • US 6
  • 1934-1935 Sign Route 6
• ⦅Freeway⦆
• ⦅Statistics⦆
• ⦅National Trails⦆
• ⦅Interregional Route⦆
• ⦅Pre-1964 Legislative Route⦆
• ⦅Acronyms and Explanations⦆