U.S. Route 4 (US 4) is a United States Numbered Highway that runs from East Greenbush, New York, in the west to

Portsmouth, New Hampshire Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on ...

, in the east, traversing

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

. In New York, US 4 is signed north–south to reflect its alignment in the state. In Vermont and

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, the route is signed east–west, the conventional direction for even-numbered U.S. Routes.

Route description

, - , NY , , - , VT , , - , NH , , - , Total ,

New York

In the state of New York, US 4 begins at the concurrency of US 9 and US 20 in East Greenbush. Heading northward, it has an interchange with Interstate 90 (I-90), continuing northward into

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

. In Troy, it passes by Hudson Valley Community College as well as the headquarters of the 42nd Infantry Division. US 4 then heads downhill, passing the historic South End Tavern as Burden Avenue, named for the historic Burden Iron Works. Later, US 4 assumes Fourth Street, which splits into parallel one-way streets (Third Street handles southbound traffic). Once through Troy's historic downtown, the streets meet and pass by the Green Island Bridge, later passing under the Collar City Bridge and into Lansingburgh. After Lansingburgh, US 4 turns left to cross the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

on the Troy–Waterford Bridge, entering

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

, joining with New York State Route 32 (NY 32) to head north together west of the Hudson. After Mechanicville, US 4 and NY 32 split, and US 4 passes by the Battles of Saratoga and Gerald B. H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery. NY 32 joins again to pass through Schuylerville, after which US 4 splits off to cross the Hudson River one last time. Running parallel to the Champlain Canal, US 4 passes through villages including Fort Edward, Hudson Falls, Fort Ann, and

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London, England. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It ...

. After a concurrency with NY 22, US 4 heads eastward into

Vermont

In the state of

, US 4 immediately becomes a four-lane divided expressway. The historic routing of US 4 runs nearby as Vermont Route 4A (VT 4A), which later becomes US 4 Business as it enters

Rutland Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town. Rutland has a ...

. South of Rutland, US 4 meets US 7 and overlaps it into downtown, meeting the east end of its business route. East of Rutland, US 4 is a two-lane highway, meandering through the

Green Mountains The Green Mountains are a mountain range in the U.S. state of Vermont and are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains. The range runs primarily south to north and extends approximately from the border with Massachusetts to the border with Que ...

, passing by Killington, going through Woodstock and Quechee, crossing the Quechee Gorge, and meeting US 5, I-89, and I-91 at White River Junction. Crossing the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges into Long Isl ...

, US 4 enters New Hampshire.

New Hampshire

In the state of

, US 4 passes through

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, meeting I-89 again. It then heads southeast to Boscawen, where it briefly overlaps US 3 before joining I-93 into Concord. Turning east, US 4 briefly overlaps I-393 and for a longer stretch with US 202. Passing through Durham, US 4 joins the Spaulding Turnpike at Dover Point and travels southeast to its eastern terminus in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

at the Portsmouth Traffic Circle.

History

Prior to being designated US 4, the road from Whitehall, New York, eastward through Vermont was New England Route 13 (Route 13). From the Vermont–New Hampshire state line to Franklin, New Hampshire, it was the eastern extension of Route 14. From Franklin to Concord, New Hampshire, it used Route 6 (now US 3), and, from Concord to Northwood, New Hampshire, it used Route 9 (now New Hampshire Route 9 H 9. Between Northwood and

Dover, New Hampshire Dover is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 32,741 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the most populous city in the New Hampshire Seacoast Region (New Hampshire), Seacoast region and ...

, it used a road that was previously not numbered. From Dover to its eastern terminus at

, the road used to be known as Route 16 (now NH 16).

History of the terminuses

1926–1930:

Glens Falls, New York Glens Falls is a City (New York), city in Warren County, New York, Warren County, New York, United States and is the central city of the Glens Falls, New York metropolitan area, Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,83 ...

, at the point where US 9 split into US 9W and US 9E, to

.
1930–: East Greenbush, New York, following former US 9E, through its former west terminus, to Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Major intersections

;New York : in East Greenbush : north of East Greenbush ;Vermont : in the Town of Rutland. The highways travel concurrently to the City of Rutland. : in

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

: in Hartford. The highways travel concurrently to White River Junction. ;New Hampshire : in

: in Lebanon : in Boscawen. The highways travel concurrently through the city. : in Concord. The highways travel concurrently through the city. : in Concord. I-393/US 4 travel concurrently to Pembroke. US 3/US 202 travel concurrently to Northwood. : in

References

External links

Endpoints of US 4
{{Authority control 04