Category: Boston

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

8/21/2020

It depends how you measure... and specifically what you measure. 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 one of those signs is accurate, whereas the other significantly overstates the true mileage. I make that statement based on measurements I first took in 2016, and later verified in 2020, using a method that I believe to be quite accurate (and in some cases, more accurate than the "official" distances posted by state departments of transportation). So let's take a look at those mileages:

3 Comments

How long is US highway 20, really?

1/4/2017

2 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

2 Comments

US Highways Blog

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

How long is US highway 20, really?

Author

Categories

Archives