Route 6A marker

Route 6A

Route 6A highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by MassDOT
Length62.362 mi[1] (100.362 km)
Existedc. 1950–present
Major junctions
West end US 6 in Bourne
Major intersections Route 132 in West Barnstable
Route 134 in Dennis
US 6 in Orleans
Route 28 in Orleans
US 6 from Eastham to Truro
North end US 6 in Provincetown
Location
CountryUnited States
StateMassachusetts
Highway system
← US 6→ US 7

Massachusetts Route 6A is the state road for two sections formerly known as U.S. Route 6 (US 6) on Cape Cod. Most of Route 6A is also known as the Old King's Highway. Combining the 2 major sections (and a "silent" concurrency with US 6 through Eastham, Wellfleet, and South Truro), the highway is approximately 62 miles (100 km) long.

Route description

Although some maps have Route 6A starting at the Bourne Bridge Rotary along Sandwich Road, it actually starts some feet east of the Sagamore Bridge, according to state signage. From there, it goes thus:

Since 1982, Route 6A has ended at an intersection (signalized until 2010) with US 6 at Herring Cove, part of the Cape Cod National Seashore. Before 1982, the intersection was a large complicated rotary-like design, and Route 6A traveled slightly farther north than its intersection with US 6, ending at the exit off the rotary for the remainder of Province Lands Road toward Race Point.

It is signed east/west on both sections of the highway. Until 2015, the highway was signed north/south from Truro and Provincetown.

Some maps erroneously had the northern Route 6A having its southern terminus at US 6 along Mayflower Avenue in Provincetown. However, since Mayflower Avenue is an extremely narrow private road of questionable maintenance, and there is no access from east US 6 to Mayflower Avenue, the reason for this misunderstanding was unknown. This has since been fixed in most maps which once contained this error.

Some maps also erroneously mark US 6's old routing through downtown Wellfleet as Route 6A, though MassHighway (and the Massachusetts Department of Public Works before it) has never included the stretch as part of Route 6A.

Prior to 1964, a second Route 6A existed in Fall River and Westport. Around 1961, it began overlapped with Route 24 at US 6/Martine Street in Fall River and left Route 24 at the President Ave./Eastern Ave. rotary, then following President Avenue to end at Route 79, US 6, Route 103, Route 138 on the Taunton River waterfront. By 1964, Route 6A was moved off Route 24 and used the full length of Eastern Avenue. This western Route 6A was decommissioned by 1965, and US 6 was moved onto its alignment.

History

Route 6A was first signed upon partial completion of the Mid-Cape Highway, which was Cape Cod's first freeway in 1953, traveling between the Sagamore Bridge in Bourne and Route 132 in Barnstable. A second stretch in 1954 was signed when a US 6 bypass was constructed in Truro and Provincetown, although in Provincetown, Route 6A was signed along Bradford Street instead of US 6's former routing on Commercial Street, as the latter road had become one-way westbound. A third stretch in 1956 was signed between Route 132 in Barnstable and the Orleans–Eastham town line when the US 6 freeway was completed.

Route 6A does not officially exist in Eastham or Wellfleet as the road is in an unsigned concurrency with US 6.[1]

The road is generally considered to be Cape Cod's most historic and scenic highway. The Barnstable portion has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Old King's Highway Historic District.[2]

The only portions of the Provincetown section under state (or federal) maintenance are the Commercial Street section (including Bradford between Commercial and Allerton) and the Province Lands Road section (which runs through National Park land). The remainder of the Bradford Street section has always been locally maintained, and though that section carries the occasional mile marker from the last postings in 1979, it has always only sparsely been signed as Route 6A.

There was once another section of Route 6A running through downtown Truro along Truro Center Road, although it was never signed or mile-marked. When Truro Center Road and North Truro's Shore Road were turned back to local maintenance in 1979, the Route 6A designation was officially removed from the downtown Truro section, though locals still referred to it as "Route 6A" until it was officially named "Truro Center Road."[1]

The section of Route 6A from North Truro to its terminus in the Cape Cod National Seashore was signed as a north–south route until 2015 when MassDOT completed replacement of those signs with east–west signage.

From around 1955 to around 1962, a second Route 6A existed in Fall River and Westport. Around 1961, it began overlapped with Route 24 at US 6/Martine Street in Fall River and left Route 24 at the President Ave./Eastern Ave. rotary, then following President Avenue to end at Route 79, US 6, Route 103, Route 138 on the Taunton River waterfront. By 1964, Route 6A was moved off Route 24 and used the full length of Eastern Avenue. This western Route 6A was decommissioned by 1965; US 6 was moved onto its alignment, as part of US 6's previous alignment it was reconstructed to make room for Interstate 195 to run through the city.

Major intersections

The entire route is in Barnstable County.

Locationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
Bourne0.0000.000
 US 6 west (Sagamore Bridge) – New Bedford, Providence, RI		Exit 55 on US 6 eastbound, road continues west as Sandwich Road
0.8031.292Cranberry Highway westTo Exit 55 on US 6 westbound
Sandwich1.2542.018
 Route 130 south – Sandwich, Mashpee		Northern terminus of Route 130
West Barnstable10.41916.768

 Route 149 south to US 6 – Marstons Mills, Osterville		Northern terminus of Route 149
12.23219.685

 Route 132 south to US 6 – Hyannis, Chatham		Northern terminus of Route 132
East Dennis24.12238.821

 Route 134 south to US 6 – South Dennis		Northern terminus of Route 134
Brewster28.19045.367
 Route 137 south – East Harwich, Chatham		Northern terminus of Route 137
28.25345.469
 Route 124 south – Harwich Center, Harwichport		Northern terminus of Route 124
Orleans32.978–
33.187		53.073–
53.409		 US 6 – Hyannis, New Bedford, Eastham, ProvincetownExit 89 on US 6
34.39955.360
 Route 28 north – Chatham, Falmouth		Southern terminus of Route 28
Eastham34.96856.276 US 6 (Orleans Rotary) – Hyannis, New Bedford, Eastham, ProvincetownWestern terminus of "silent" concurrency with US 6
Truro53.60686.270
 US 6 east – Provincetown		Eastern terminus of "silent" concurrency with US 6
Provincetown62.382100.394
 US 6 west / Province Lands Road – New Bedford, Race Point		Eastern terminus of US 6
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 MassDOT Planning Division. "Massachusetts Route Log Application". Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  2. ↑ https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/87000314
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