The Bundesstraße 6n is a German federal road that runs east-west from the Vienenburg district of Goslar to Bernburg, where it connects to the A14. It was originally planned to be the A 36 motorway. It is intended to have four lanes running from the A 395 near Vienenburg through Wernigerode, Blankenburg, Quedlinburg, Aschersleben over the A 14 to Bernburg. The designation B 6n has been given to distinguish it from the old B 6 and B 185 during the planning and construction phase. After it is opened to traffic and the old Bundesstraße is downgraded to a Landesstraße or Kreisstraßen the B 6n will be renumbered the B 6 from Goslar to Aschersleben, the remaining section to the A 14 will become the B 185. For the most part the signs have already been changed accordingly.
Route
The B 6n is signed off the A 14 motorway at Bernburg motorway junction and, after Braunschweig, it joins the A 395 at the Vienenburg three-way interchange. It is thus intended to link these two motorways and create a new east–west axis. It is also intended to relieve traffic on the A 2 by providing an alternative route. The B 6 is being downgraded; indeed it already has been in those sections where the B 6n has already been built and is no longer signed as a Bundesstraße or federal road. From Vienenburg the B 6 continues as a 4-lane dual carriageway or Schnellstraße to Goslar and from there as the B 82, albeit no longer a Schnellstraße, to the A 7 motorway near Rhüden. During ultrasound testing on the route of the B 6n numerous sites of archaeological significance were found, including a burial hut of the Bernburg culture near Benzingerode in the borough of Wernigerode. The section between the three-way intersection at Vienenburg and Bernburg is already finished. This has relieved through traffic in the towns and villages by providing a motorway-like Schnellstraße or so-called "yellow motorway". The extension of the B 6n is in planning and will consist of a ring road around Bernburg. In addition, there are preliminary investigations into an extension of the B 6 as far as the A 9 motorway. The route is intended to pass south of Köthen. The regional planning procedure for this was completed in 2001. The link to the A9 will be built near Thurland. There were thoughts about a further extension to Cottbus, but these have been put aside, because it was assessed that this route would not be used by a lot of traffic. At present the B 6n is open from the west i.e. Goslar as far as the Bernburg junction. Since 11 July 2007, planning and building law applies to all 13 sections. However, complaints were made to the Federal Administrative Court against the planning decision for section 13.3. This legal dispute ended on 5 November 2008 with a court-proposed settlement agreement. According to the court decision, all applications for the B 6n gained governmental approval, which meant that the B 6n could be completed in the direction of the A 14 and lengthened as far as Bernburg. This last section was opened to traffic on 11 December 2011.
Administrative regions
The B 6n passes through the following administrative regions:
