Category: Boston

Which highway is longer? US Route 6 or US Route 20?

8/21/2020

(last updated 10/3/2023)
If you are familiar with the mileage signs posted at the terminus points of US 6 and US 20, you might point to those and say, "The answer is plain to see: US 20 is 160 miles longer than US 6."

If both of those signs were accurate, then obviously US 20 would be longer. But the fact is, only the US 6 sign is accurate, whereas the US 20 sign significantly overstates the true mileage. In reality, the mileages of the two routes are very close, and in fact there is every reason to believe US 6 is actually a slightly longer route.

8 Comments

How long is US highway 20, really?

1/4/2017

6 Comments

(latest revision 8/31/2020)
US 20 is often cited as the longest highway in the country (and that may be correct, although its main challenger is a lot closer than most people realize). In late 2016, officials from both endpoints (Oregon and Massachusetts) posted twin signs, one at each terminus of the highway (photos and more info on the US 20 page). While that was a really great idea, it is unfortunate that the distance listed on those signs (3365 miles) is off by a non-trivial amount.

Wayne Brunelle, Nov. 2016

6 Comments

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Which highway is longer? US Route 6 or US Route 20?

How long is US highway 20, really?

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