PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 1810 PRINTER'S NO. 1829
No. 1222 Session of 2006
INTRODUCED BY ROBBINS, LEMMOND, EARLL, MADIGAN, MELLOW, SCARNATI
AND M. WHITE, JUNE 7, 2006
AS AMENDED ON THIRD CONSIDERATION, JUNE 13, 2006
AN ACT
1 Designating the portion of U.S. Route 6 in Linesville Borough,
2 Crawford County, as the U.S. Route 6 "Gateway to the West"
3 AND "GATEWAY TO PENNSYLVANIA" and designating the portion of <--
4 U.S. Route 6 in Matamoras Borough, Pike County, as the U.S.
5 Route 6 "Gateway to the East." EAST" AND "GATEWAY TO <--
6 PENNSYLVANIA."
7 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
8 hereby enacts as follows:
9 Section 1. Route 6 Gateway Designation.
10 (a) Findings.--The General Assembly finds and declares as
11 follows:
12 (1) Historic U.S. Route 6 is the longest highway ever
13 established in the United States, stretching 3,652 miles from
14 Provincetown on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, all the way to Long
15 Beach Island in California.
16 (2) In October of 1925, as part of a recommended 75,884-
17 mile U.S. numbered highway system, the Joint Board on
18 Interstate Highways proposed U.S. Route 6 from Provincetown,
19 Massachusetts, through Rhode Island and Connecticut and
1 stretching to Brewster, New York.
2 (3) By the time the debates on this system concluded and
3 the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO)
4 approved the proposal, United States Highway No. 6 consisted
5 of 707 miles stretching from Provincetown to Erie,
6 Pennsylvania. A large gap in this route (through New York)
7 was filled in 1928.
8 (4) The historic highway began as an entity in November
9 of 1926 when the American Association of State Highway
10 Officials adopted the Federal numbering system for marking
11 the nation's main interstate highways.
12 (5) U.S. Route 6 was signed in 1926 and in the early
13 years its western terminus was in Erie, Pennsylvania.
14 (6) In 1938, U.S. 6 was widened from Clarks Summit to
15 Scranton and Milford to the New York state line.
16 (7) Once known as the Theodore Roosevelt Highway, Route
17 6 was formally dedicated as the Grand Army of the Republic
18 Highway at a ceremony in Long Beach, California, on May 3,
19 1953.
20 (8) Route 6 runs exactly 399.81 miles in Pennsylvania.
21 (9) With origins that predate the American Colonies,
22 U.S. Route 6 has grown as the United States has grown -- from
23 the Appalachian Mountains of New York and Pennsylvania, to
24 the Great Plains of Iowa and Nebraska, to the Rocky Mountains
25 of Colorado and Utah, Route 6 connects big cities like
26 Cleveland and Denver, state capitals like Providence and Des
27 Moines, and small hamlets like Nappanee, Indiana, and Ely,
28 Nevada. These towns and regions could benefit greatly from
29 protecting and promoting this historic resource.
30 (10) This historic transcontinental highway continues to
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1 be one of the most unique and scenic roadways in the world
2 and is a valuable resource worth protecting and showcasing.
3 (11) Pennsylvania has authorized the Route 6 Heritage
4 Corridor as the Commonwealth's twelfth heritage park,
5 stretching through eleven northern counties.
6 (12) The corridor connects four State heritage areas and
7 two national heritage areas, traverses through the Pocono
8 Mountains, Endless Mountains, Allegheny Mountains, the
9 Allegheny National Forest and two large State forest tracts,
10 is close to at least 19 State parks, and serves as an entry
11 point for the Great Lakes Region, the Pennsylvania Northeast
12 Mountain Region as well as the "Pennsylvania Wilds" -- an
13 initiative aimed at increasing nature-based tourism in the
14 State's north central counties.
15 (13) The Pennsylvania entry points, Linesville in
16 Crawford County and Matamoras in Pike County, have long been
17 considered as the Pennsylvania gateways to the west and east,
18 respectively.
19 (14) Linesville, which is the 500 mile marker between
20 New York and Chicago, is a borough located in Crawford County
21 with a population of approximately 1,155.
22 (15) Linesville will be the future home of the National
23 U.S. Route 6 Museum, which will highlight the impact and
24 importance of Route 6 on the development of our country and
25 will provide opportunities to educate the public on its
26 historic and current significance.
27 (16) Matamoras is a borough located in Pike County with
28 a population of approximately 2,312.
29 (b) Designation.--
30 (1) The portion of Route 6 in Linesville Borough,
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1 Crawford County, is designated as the U.S. Route 6 "Gateway
2 to the West." WEST" FOR WESTBOUND TRAFFIC AND "GATEWAY TO <--
3 PENNSYLVANIA" FOR EASTBOUND TRAFFIC.
4 (2) The portion of Route 6 in Matamoras Borough, Pike
5 County, is designated as the U.S. Route 6 "Gateway to the
6 East." EAST" FOR EASTBOUND TRAFFIC AND "GATEWAY TO <--
7 PENNSYLVANIA" FOR WESTBOUND TRAFFIC.
8 (c) Signs.--The Department of Transportation shall, in
9 consultation with the Boroughs of Linesville and Matamoras,
10 erect and maintain a sign at each end of Route 6 to indicate the <--
11 designation SIGNS TO INDICATE THE DESIGNATIONS under subsection <--
12 (b).
13 Section 2. Effective date.
14 This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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