U.S. Route 6 (US 6) is a part of the

United States Numbered Highway System The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these ...

that runs from California to

Provincetown, Massachusetts Provincetown () is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States census, Provi ...

. In

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, it is part of the Indiana state road system that enters the state concurrent with the

Borman Expressway Interstate 94 (I-94) is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs from Billings, Montana, to Port Huron, Michigan. I-94 enters Indiana from Illinois in the west, in Munster, and runs generally eastward through Hammond, Gary, and ...

between

Lansing, Illinois Lansing is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Lansing is a south suburb of Chicago. The population was 29,076 at the 2020 census. History The first family to settle in Lansing was that of August Hildebrandt in 1843. Henry, Georg ...

, and

Munster, Indiana Munster is a suburban town in North Township, Lake County, Indiana, United States. It is in the Chicago metropolitan area, approximately southeast of the Chicago Loop, and shares municipal boundaries with Hammond to the north, Highland to the ...

. The 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 A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...

at the

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

state line. US 6 passes through farmfields and forestlands 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 U.S. Route in 1932. A section of the highway originally served as part of Sauk Indian Trail. US 6 replaced the original State Road 17 (SR 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 Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, 1815 battle where Napoleon's French army was defeated by Anglo-allied and Prussian forces * Waterloo, Belgium Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Australia * Waterloo, New South Wale ...

and ended in Butler. US 6 also replaced the second designation of the highway, State Road 6 (SR 6), through most of the state.

Route description

US 6 enters Indiana concurrent with I-80/I-94 on the

, from Illinois. The concurrency passes through several communities in Lake County before US 6 leaves the Borman in

Lake Station Lake railway station is a station on the Isle of Wight serving the village of Lake, situated in a quiet residential area not far from Lake Cliff Gardens and the beach at Sandown Bay. Until the construction of an interchange station with the Is ...

at the Ripley Street exit. US 6 heads south on Ripley Street, concurrent with SR 51, passing through Lake Station. The road enters

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

, before turning east, leaving SR 51, before leaving Lake County and entering Porter County. In Porter County, US 6 continues east as a four-lane road passing through commercial properties. US 6 has an intersection with SR 149. East of this intersection, US 6 becomes a two-lane rural road passing through residential properties with some fields. The road becomes a four-lane divided highway passing south of the Porter Regional Hospital and through an interchange with SR 49. East of SR 49, the roadway reduces back to a two-lane road, before passing over

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of track, it is the lead ...

's Garrett Subdivision. East of the tracks, US 6 becomes a three-lane roadway, with two-lanes eastbound and one-lane westbound, before reducing back to a two-lane roadway. US 6 leaves Porter County and enters LaPorte County, before entering Westville. In Westville, US 6 has an intersection with SR 2 before US 6 turns south concurrent with US 421. The concurrency heads south for a short distance, passing east of the Westville Correctional Facility, before US 6 turns toward the east and US 421 continues toward the south. East of US 421, US 6 passes farms and fields. In rural LaPorte County, US 6 has an intersection with SR 39 before an at grade crossing with

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

's South Bend Subdivision. Past the railroad tracks, US 6 becomes a four-lane divided road before an intersection with US 35. US 6 and US 35 head south-southeast, and the roadway narrows back to a two-lane highway. The road crosses over CSX Transportation's Garrett Subdivision before passing northeast of Kingsford Heights. Past Kingsofrd Heights, the road bends to become east–west. The concurrency between US 6 and US 35 ends, with US 35 turning south and US 6 continuing east. US 6 crosses over the

Kankakee River The Kankakee River is a tributary of the Illinois River, approximately long, in the Corn Belt, Central Corn Belt Plains of northwestern Indiana and northeastern Illinois in the United States. At one time, the river drained one of the largest we ...

before entering St. Joseph County. In St. Joseph County, the road enters Walkerton and passing through the southern end of SR 104, near industrial properties. US 6 bends to become southeast–northwest passing through downtown, while, in downtown, US 6 has a short overlap with SR 23. US 6 leaves Walkerton heading southeast, before leaving St. Joseph County and entering Marshall County. In Marshall County, US 6 curves to become east–west, passing farmland, before the roadway becomes a four-lane divided roadway and enters

La Paz La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Aymara language, Aymara: Chuqi Yapu ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities by populati ...

. In La Paz, the road passes through commercial properties and an intersection with the

Michigan Road The Michigan Road was one of the earliest roads in Indiana. Roads in early Indiana were often roads in name only. In actuality they were sometimes little more than crude paths following old animal and Native American trails and filled with sinkh ...

, former US 31. Past La Paz, US 6 has an interchange with US 31 before narrowing back to a two-lane rural highway. The highway curves northeast, having an intersection with western end SR 106 and crossing over CSX Transportation's Garrett Subdivision again, before curving to become east–west near an

Indiana State Police The Indiana State Police is the statewide law enforcement agency for the U.S. state of Indiana. Indiana was the 12th state to offer protection to its citizens with a State police (United States), state police force. Its headquarters are in the ...

post. US 6 heads east, having an intersection with a connecting road at connects with SR 331, before bridging over SR 331. The road bends to the southeast, having an intersection with the eastern end of SR 106 before a few more curves, with the road generally traveling in an east-southeast direction. US 6 leaves Marshall County and enters Elkhart County before entering the town of

Nappanee Nappanee is a city in Elkhart and Kosciusko counties in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 6,648 as of the 2010 U.S. Census and had grown to 6,913 by the 2020 U.S. Census. The name Nappanee is thought to mean "flour" in the Algonq ...

. US 6 enters Nappanee, concurrent with Market Street passing industrial properties, before passing the Stahly–Nissley–Kuhns Farm. The landscape of the road becomes more residential as it enters downtown. In downtown, Nappanee US 6 has an intersection with SR 19. East of SR 19, Market Street passes on the south edge of Nappanee Eastside Historic District, before leaving downtown and passing through a commercial part of town. US 6 passes some more industrial properties before leaving Nappanee. East of Nappanee, US 6 passes south of Nappanee Municipal Airport. Past the airport, the road makes a few curves but is generally east–west. In rural Elkhart County, the road passes mostly farms, with some houses and industrial land mixed in, having an intersection with SR 15 and crosses

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

's Marion Branch . North of

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

, US 6 has an intersection with SR 13, US 6, and SR 13 head east concurrent, until SR 13 tunes north concurrent with US 33. US 6 continues east, concurrent with US 33. The highway leaves Elkhart County and enters Noble County. In Noble County, the roadway enters Ligonier passing some industrial properties, before the landscape sounding the road becomes commercial. The overlap between US 6 and US 33 ends at an intersection with SR 5, with US 33 turning south onto SR 5, while US 6 continues toward the east. US 6 leaves Ligonier having a few curves, but staying in a generally east–west direction. US 6 begins an overlap with SR 9 before passing over Norfolk Southern Railway's Chicago Line and through Brimfield. Past Brimfield, the overlap ends with SR 9 turning north, while US 6 continues towards the east, heading toward Kendallville. The road enters Kendallville, concurrent with North Street, passing industrial land, with some commercial properties, before an intersection with SR 3. At this intersection, North Street becomes a four-lane roadway, and SR 3 turns east onto North Street concurrent with US 6. The concurrency ends with SR 3 turning north and US 6 continuing east on North Street. On the east side of Kendallville, US 6 becomes two-lane, passing through commercial and industrial properties, before leaving Kendallville and Noble County. US 6 enters

DeKalb County DeKalb County may refer to one of several counties in the United States, all of which were named for Baron Johann de Kalb: * DeKalb County, Alabama DeKalb County is a County (United States), county in the Northeast Alabama, northeastern part ...

and has a short overlap with SR 327, before passing through Corunna. Past Corunna, the road has an interchange with

I-69 Interstate 69 (I-69) is an Interstate Highway in the United States currently consisting of eight unconnected segments. The longest segment runs from Evansville, Indiana, northeast to the Canada–United States border, Canadian border in Po ...

before entering

. In Waterloo, the road passes industrial land before residential properties as the road enters downtown Waterloo. In downtown, US 6 has an intersection with the southern end of SR 427 before leaving Waterloo. East of Waterloo, US 6 parallels Norfolk Southern Railway's Chicago Line for a short distance, before the road enters

, passing industrial and commercial properties. The landscape along becomes residential as the road enters downtown. In downtown, US 6 has an intersection with SR 1. The road crosses Norfolk Southern Railway's Huntington District before leaving Butler and entering rural DeKalb County. In rural DeKalb County, US 6 parallels Norfolk Southern Railway's Chicago Line, passing agriculture land, before US 6 crosses into Ohio. Only the segment of US 6 that are concurrent with

I-80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one of the ori ...

/ I-94 and the segment that is concurrent with US 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 The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of Indiana charged with maintaining and regulating transportation and transportation related infrastructure such as state owned airports, List of number ...

(INDOT) like all other U.S. Routes in the state. The department tracks the traffic volumes along all state highways as a part of its maintenance responsibilities using a metric called

annual average daily traffic Annual average daily traffic (AADT) is a measure used primarily in transportation planning, transportation engineering and retail location selection. Traditionally, it is the total volume of vehicle traffic of a highway or road for a year divided ...

(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

The first route along modern US 6 was used in the 1700s, and it was a Native American known as Sauk Indian Trail, also known as the Great East–West Trail. In 1843, the modern route of US 6 became a gravel roadway, through most of Noble County. During 1918, SR 17 was commissioned along what later would become US 6, from Ligonier to the Ohio–Indiana border. In the 1920s, the Toledo–Chicago Pike was commissioned between

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...

, and Chicago using several state roads from Illinois state line, passing through South Bend, to Ligonier and then SR 17 from Ligonier and the Ohio state line. SR 17 would become SR 6, and SR 6 was extended west to the Illinois state line, in 1926. The first segment of roadway to be paved was between Waterloo and Ohio state line by 1928. In 1928, SR 6 was under construction, along its modern route, from Illinois state line to Ligonier, this route was built to help relieve traffic on the

Lincoln Highway The Lincoln Highway is one of the first transcontinental highways in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated Octob ...

and

Yellowstone Trail The Yellowstone Trail was the first transcontinental automobile highway through the upper tier of states in the United States, established on May 23, 1912. It was an Auto trail, Auto Trail that ran from the Atlantic Ocean in Plymouth, Massachus ...

. Also in 1928, the road was paved between Kendallville and Waterloo, with the section from near Ligonier to Kendallville being paved following year. In 1929, construction was completed on the roadway between Illinois and SR 43, now US 421, and at this time the Toledo–Chicago Pike became Cleveland–Chicago Pike. SR 6 was under construction between US 31 and SR 15 in 1931. On June 8, 1931, the

American Association of State Highway Officials The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is a standards setting body which publishes specifications, test protocols, and guidelines that are used in highway design and construction throughout the United St ...

approved an extension of US 6 from Pennsylvania to Colorado, passing through Indiana along SR 6. US 6 was rerouted between Illinois state line and US 41 (Calumet Avenue), routed concurrent with US 41 and the Tri-state Highway, with this reroute happened between 1953 and 1953. The highway was rerouted to the modern route through Kendallville in October 1959. US 6 and US 41 was rerouted on to Indianapolis Avenue between 1963 and 1964. A reroute of US 6 to its modern route in Lake County, concurrent with SR 51 and the Borman Expressway, occurred in either 1966 or 1967. US 6 was rerouted around Bremen, on a new roadway, between 1980 and 1981. The old route of US 6 through Bremen became SR 106.

Major intersections

References

External links

Route description

History

Major intersections

See also

References

External links