U.S. Route 4

U.S. Route 4 (US 4) is a 253-mile (407 km) long United States highway that runs from East Greenbush, New York, in the west to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in the east, traversing through Vermont.

In New York, US 4 is signed north–south to reflect its alignment in the state. In Vermont and New Hampshire, the route is signed east–west, the standard direction for even-numbered US highways.

Route description

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 I-90, continuing northward into Troy. 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.

U.S. Route 4 in Vermont

In the U.S. state of Vermont, U.S. Route 4 (US 4) extends for 66.06 miles (106.31 km) between the New York state line at Fair Haven and the New Hampshire state line at White River Junction. It is one of the main arteries between New York and New Hampshire.

Route description

Upon crossing into Vermont from New York, US 4 immediately expands from a two-lane highway to a four-lane expressway. US 4 changes from being signed north–south (in New York) to being signed east–west (in Vermont). The historic routing of US 4 runs nearby as VT 4A, which later becomes US 4 Business as it enters the town of Rutland.

The 19-mile (31 km) US 4 expressway was built in anticipation of the proposed, but never built, East-West Highway which was supposed to link the population centers of northern New England. As such, this section of freeway meets Interstate Highway standards. The freeway has junctions with VT 22A in Fair Haven and VT 30 in Castleton. In West Rutland, the last numbered exit on the highway, exit 6, leads to US 4 Business, which provides access to the town centers of West Rutland and Rutland town. The expressway veers south just outside the limits of Rutland city, ending at an at-grade intersection with US 7 south of the city.

U.S. Route 4 in New Hampshire

In the state of New Hampshire, U.S. Route 4 runs for 106.8 miles (171.9 km) across the central and southern part of the state, stretching from Lebanon on the Connecticut River border with Vermont southeast to Portsmouth on the eastern coast.

Route description

U.S. Route 4 crosses the Connecticut River into New Hampshire in the community of West Lebanon, where it immediately intersects Route 10 which runs parallel to the river. US-4 turns south onto Route 10, and the two routes turn south, meeting Route 12A before turning towards and interchanging with Interstate 89. At this point, Route 10 joins the I-89 freeway southbound, while US-4 continues east into downtown Lebanon. The road crosses Route 120, continues east and interchanges with I-89/Route 10 again. US-4 continues east away from the freeway into Mascoma, where Route 4A splits off to the southeast. US-4 continues east through Enfield and into Canaan, where it meets the southern end of Route 118. The road turns to the south at this point, passing through Grafton and Danbury, where US-4 meets the west end of Route 104 and continues south into Andover. In Andover, US-4 turns back to the east and meets Route 11 near Route 4A's eastern terminus. US-4 and Route 11 run concurrently through Andover for about 2 miles (3.2 km) before splitting, Route 11 to the northeast and US-4 to the southeast. US-4 enters the town of Salisbury and crosses Route 127, before continuing into Boscawen and intersecting with U.S. Route 3. US-3 and US-4 share a short concurrency (about a mile), before US-4 turns east to interchange with Interstate 93 at Exit 17.