Section 1.2. U.S. 6 Gateway designation.
(a) Findings.--The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
(1) Historic U.S. 6 is the longest highway ever
established in the United States, stretching 3,652 miles from
Provincetown on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, all the way to Long
Beach Island in California.
(2) In October 1925, as part of a recommended 75,884-
mile U.S. numbered highway system, the Joint Board on
Interstate Highways proposed U.S. 6 from Provincetown,
Massachusetts, through Rhode Island and Connecticut and
stretching to Brewster, New York.
(3) By the time the debates on this system concluded and
the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO)
approved the proposal, U.S. 6 consisted of 707 miles
stretching from Provincetown to Erie, Pennsylvania. A large
gap in this route (through New York) was filled in 1928.
(4) The historic highway began as an entity in November
1926 when the American Association of State Highway Officials
adopted the Federal numbering system for marking the nation's
main interstate highways.
(5) U.S. 6 was signed in 1926, and in the early years
its western terminus was in Erie, Pennsylvania.
(6) In 1938 U.S. 6 was widened from Clarks Summit to
Scranton and Milford to the New York State line.
(7) Once known as the Theodore Roosevelt Highway, U.S. 6
was formally dedicated as the Grand Army of the Republic
Highway at a ceremony in Long Beach, California, on May 3,
1953.
(8) U.S. 6 runs exactly 399.81 miles in Pennsylvania.
(9) With origins that predate the American Colonies,
U.S. 6 has grown as the United States has grown--from the
Appalachian Mountains of New York and Pennsylvania, to the
Great Plains of Iowa and Nebraska, to the Rocky Mountains of
Colorado and Utah, U.S. 6 connects big cities like Cleveland
and Denver, state capitals like Providence and Des Moines and
small hamlets like Nappanee, Indiana, and Ely, Nevada. These
towns and regions could benefit greatly from protecting and
promoting this historic resource.
(10) This historic transcontinental highway continues to
be one of the most unique and scenic roadways in the world
and is a valuable resource worth protecting and showcasing.
(11) Pennsylvania has authorized the U.S. 6 Heritage
Corridor as the Commonwealth's twelfth heritage park,
stretching through 11 northern counties.
(12) The corridor connects four State heritage areas and
two national heritage areas, traverses through the Pocono
Mountains, Endless Mountains, Allegheny Mountains, the
Allegheny National Forest and two large State forest tracts,
is close to at least 19 State parks and serves as an entry
point for the Great Lakes Region, the Pennsylvania Northeast
Mountain Region as well as the "Pennsylvania Wilds"--an
initiative aimed at increasing nature-based tourism in the
State's north-central counties.
(13) The Pennsylvania entry points, Linesville in
Crawford County and Matamoras in Pike County, have long been
considered as the Pennsylvania gateways to the west and east,
respectively.
(14) Linesville, which is the 500-mile marker between
New York and Chicago, is a borough located in Crawford County
with a population of approximately 1,155.
(15) Linesville will be the future home of the National
U.S. Route 6 Museum, which will highlight the impact and
importance of U.S. 6 on the development of our country and
will provide opportunities to educate the public on its
historic and current significance.
(16) Matamoras is a borough located in Pike County with
a population of approximately 2,312.
(b) Designation.--
(1) The portion of U.S. 6 in Linesville Borough,
Crawford County, is designated as the U.S. 6 "Gateway to the
West" for westbound traffic and "Gateway to Pennsylvania" for
eastbound traffic.
(2) The portion of U.S. 6 in Matamoras Borough, Pike
County, is designated as the U.S. 6 "Gateway to the East" for
eastbound traffic and "Gateway to Pennsylvania" for westbound
traffic.
(c) Signs.--The Department of Transportation shall, in consultation with the Boroughs of Linesville and Matamoras, erect and maintain signs to indicate the designations under subsection (b).
(1.2 added Nov. 29, 2006, P.L.1615, No.183)