Trunk 4 is part of the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

province of

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

's system of Trunk Highways. The route runs from Highway 104 exit 7 near Thomson Station to

Glace Bay Glace Bay (Scottish Gaelic: ''Glasbaidh'') is a community in the eastern part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia, Canada. It forms part of the general area referred to as Industrial Cape Breton. Formerly an incorporated ...

. Until the construction of the

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway (French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean on ...

, Trunk 4 was a major traffic link in northern Nova Scotia and

Cape Breton Cape Breton Island (french: link=no, île du Cap-Breton, formerly '; gd, Ceap Breatainn or '; mic, Unamaꞌki) is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18. ...

, and is still used on Cape Breton as an alternative to Highway 105. The highway was originally called the King's Highway, however, this name is no longer applied to the entire road. The only remaining historic section of the highway that maintains the name "King" is King's Road in Sydney.

Route description (west to east)

;Thomson Station to Glenholme The section between the western terminus at Exit 7, Highway 104 in Thomson Station to Mahoneys Corner was originally built as Highway 104 in the 1960s. It was bypassed by the

Cobequid Pass The Cobequid Pass is the name given to a tolled section of Nova Scotia Highway 104 (the Trans-Canada Highway) between Thomson Station, Cumberland County and Masstown, Colchester County in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. The section is a ...

in 1997 and redesignated Trunk 4 at that time. The section between Mahoneys Corner and Glenholme was originally part of Trunk 4 until the 1960s when it was designated Highway 104. This section was also redesignated Trunk 4 in 1997 after the opening of the Cobequid Pass. ;Glenholme to Onslow The section between Glenholme and Onslow is co-designated with Trunk 2. Trunk 4 is discontinuous between Exit 14A,

Highway 102 Route 102 or Highway 102 can refer to multiple roads: China * China National Highway 102 Canada * New Brunswick Route 102 * Newfoundland and Labrador Route 102 * Nova Scotia Highway 102 * Ontario Highway 102 * Prince Edward Island Rou ...

in the west and Pictou Road in Bible Hill in the east. ;Bible Hill to Barney's River Station Trunk 4 reappears in Bible Hill, following Pictou Road and the original Trunk 4 alignment east. In Kemptown, Trunk 4 follows an old alignment of Highway 104 for several kilometres. Trunk 4 continues east of Kemptown on its original alignment through Mount Thom to Salt Springs. From Salt Springs to Westville, the present alignment of Trunk 4 was used as Highway 104 from the 1960s until being bypassed in the 1990s. Now redesignated Trunk 4, the highway designation continues into Westville on Truro Road and then Westville Road. In

New Glasgow New Glasgow is a town in Pictou County, in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It is situated on the banks of the East River of Pictou, which flows into Pictou Harbour, a sub-basin of the Northumberland Strait. The town's population was 9,075 ...

it follows the original Trunk 4 route on Westville Road, Stellarton Road, George Street, Archimedes Street, Marsh Street and Merigomish Road before heading east toward Sutherlands River. At Sutherlands River, Trunk 4 follows a new alignment between School Rd and Highway 245. It then continues east to Barney's River Station. ;Marshy Hope to South River Station Trunk 4 is discontinuous between Barney's River Station and

Marshy Hope A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

as Highway 104 uses the old Trunk 4 alignment for this section. From Marshy Hope, Trunk 4 proceeds east to

Antigonish , settlement_type = Town , image_skyline = File:St Ninian's Cathedral Antigonish Spring.jpg , image_caption = St. Ninian's Cathedral , image_flag = Flag of Antigonish.pn ...

. In Antigonish, it follows Post Road, James Street, Main Street, and St Andrews Street. East of Antigonish it proceeds to South River Station. ;Heatherton to Auld's Cove Trunk 4 is discontinuous between South River Station and Heatherton as Highway 104 mostly uses the old Trunk 4 alignment. From Heatherton, Trunk 4 proceeds east to Auld's Cove. ;Port Hastings to Glace Bay Trunk 4 is discontinuous between Auld's Cove and Port Hastings as Highway 104 uses the old Trunk 4 alignment. From Port Hastings, Trunk 4 proceeds east through Port Hawkesbury and St. Peter's before turning northeast along the southeastern shore of

Bras d'Or Lake Bras d'Or Lake ( Mi'kmawi'simk: Pitupaq) is an irregular estuary in the centre of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada. It has a connection to the open sea, and is tidal. It also has inflows of fresh water from rivers, making the brackis ...

through Big Pond and

Ben Eoin Ben Eoin (; gd, Beinn Eòin) is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Ben Eoin lies on the East Bay The East Bay is the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area and ...

. It continues east to Sydney River to Sydney. In Sydney it follows Kings Road, Esplanade Road, Welton Street. East of Sydney it continues along Grand Lake Road to Reserve Mines and

. In Glace Bay it follows Reserve Street and Union Street and ends at the intersection of Union and Commercial Streets.

Blue Route

Because a large portion of the highway has been paralleled by the faster Highway 104, traffic volumes are comparatively light. As a result, parts of Trunk 4 are currently under review to become part of Nova Scotia's Blue Route, a designated cycling corridor.Blue Route status map
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History

Trunk 4 originally started at the

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

border in Fort Lawrence. In the early years of the

system, Trunk 4 was the designated Trans-Canada Highway route across mainland Nova Scotia. When controlled-access sections of Highway 104 were first built in the 1960s, the number replaced Trunk 4 entirely west of New Glasgow. As four-lane sections of Highway 104 were built in the late 1990s, the number 4 was again used to mark the former Mount Thom and Wentworth Valley sections of 104. ;Original sections of historic Trunk 4 (west to east) ;NB-NS border to Monastery * part of Cumberland Loop in Fort Lawrence serving the Nova Scotia Dept of Tourism visitor information centre is a former Trunk 4 alignment * Laplanche Street in Fort Lawrence * Laplanche Street, Church Street, and Albion Street in Amherst * Trunk 2 from Amherst to Springhill * Highway 321 from Springhill to

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

* Highway 204 from Oxford to Streets Ridge (old road alignment visible at realigned intersection) * Highway 368 from Streets Ridge to Mahoneys Corner * current section of Trunk 4 from Mahoneys Corner to Glenholme * Glenholme Road in Glenholme * current section of Trunk 4/Trunk 2 from Glenholme to Masstown (old road alignment visible at realigned intersection) * current section of Trunk 4/Trunk 2 from Masstown to Tidal Bore Road in Onslow * Tidal Bore Road to Meadow Drive (old bridge - old road alignment visible from Highway 102) * Robie Street, Juniper Street, Prince Street, and Walker Street in

Truro Truro (; kw, Truru) is a cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its population was 18,766 in the 2011 census. People of Truro ...

* Main Street to Pictou Road in Bible Hill * Pictou Road in Bible Hill and

Valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

* current section of Trunk 4 from Valley to Kemptown * Loop Old Highway 4 in Kemptown * current section of Trunk 4 from Kemptown to Westville with some minor exceptions * Truro Road and Westville Road in Westville * Westville Road, Stellarton Road, George Street, Archimedes Street, Marsh Street and Merigomish Road in

* current section of Trunk 4 from Linacy to Sutherlands River * School Road in Sutherlands River * current section of Trunk 4 across Sutherlands River (old bridge - old road alignment visible at realigned intersection) * current section of Trunk 4 from Sutherlands River to Barneys River Station * Robertson Road at Barneys River Station * current section of Highway 104 from Barneys River Station to Marshy Hope (old road alignment visible at some places along this section) * current section of Trunk 4 from Marshy Hope to Addington Forks * old road alignment visible at realigned intersection in Addington Forks * Post Road, James Street, West Street, Main Street, St Andrews Street in Antigonish * current section of Trunk 4 from Antigonish to South River Road * current section of Highway 104 from South River Road to Lower South River * unused old road alignment visible in Taylors Road * Dagger Woods Road in Dagger Woods * Heatherton Village Road in Pomquet Forks and Heatherton * current section of Trunk 4 from Heatherton to Monastery ;pre-1955 (Monastery - Port Hawkesbury) * current section of Trunk 4 from Monastery to Aulds Cove * current section of Route 344 from Aulds Cove to Mulgrave ** Prior to the 1930s current section of Old Mulgrave Road from Monastery to Mulgrave * Wallace Street in Mulgrave * public car ferry operated by NS Dept of Highways from Mulgrave to Port Hawkesbury; Mulgrave slip located between Wallace Street and Dale Avenue; Port Hawkesbury slip located at foot of MacSween Street * MacSween Street, Granville Street, and Sydney Road in Port Hawkesbury ;post-1955 (Monastery - Port Hawkesbury) * current section of Trunk 4 from Monastery to Aulds Cove * current section of Highway 104 in Aulds Cove * current section of Highway 104 across

Canso Causeway The Canso Causeway (''Cabhsair Chanso'' in Gaelic) is a rock-fill causeway crossing the Strait of Canso, connecting Cape Breton Island by road to the Nova Scotia peninsula. Its crest thickness is , carrying the two vehicle traffic lanes o ...

* current section of Trunk 4 from Port Hastings to Port Hawkesbury * Reeves Street and Sydney Road in Port Hawkesbury ;Port Hawkesbury to Glace Bay * current section of Trunk 4 from Port Hawkesbury to River Tillard * old road alignment visible at realigned intersection in River Tillard * current section of Trunk 4 from River Tillard to Sydney River (with exception of new alignment build in Irish Cove in the 1970s) * Kings Road in Sydney River * Kings Road, Esplanade Road, Prince Street, Welton Street in Sydney * current section of Trunk 4 / Grand Lake Road to Reserve Mines * Sydney Road in Reserve Mines * Reserve Street in Glace Bay * Union Street in Glace Bay

Major intersections

External links

East Bay Highway Cam

Irish Cove Highway Cam

References

{{NS Roads and Highways

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