Põhimaantee 4 (ofcl. abbr. T4; also known as Pärnu Highway) is a 192-kilometre-long north-south national main road in Estonia. The route follows the same path as the

European route E67 European route E 67 is an E-road running from Prague in the Czech Republic to Estonia and by ferry to Finland. It goes via Prague, Wrocław, Warsaw, Kaunas, Panevėžys, Riga, Tallinn, Helsinki. The route is known as the Via Baltic ...

, also known as the Via Baltica. The highway starts in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

. From there the main cities passed are

Saue Saue is a town in north-western Estonia. It's the administrative centre of Saue Parish in Harju County. The territory of Saue is and population about 5,800. Closest centres are Tallinn (), Keila (), Saku () and Laagri (). Geography Saue is ...

Märjamaa Märjamaa is a borough ( et, alev) in Rapla County, Estonia. It is the administrative center of Märjamaa Parish. Märjamaa has a population of 2,961 as of 29 November 2012, making it the largest settlement in the whole of Märjamaa Parish. Nota ...

and

Pärnu Pärnu () is the fourth largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet o ...

. The highway ends in

Ikla Ikla is a village in Häädemeeste Parish, Pärnu County, Estonia. (retrieved 28 July 2021) The village lies on the Via Baltica (European route E67 European route E 67 is an E-road running from Prague in the Czech Republic to Esto ...

at the

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

n border. The road forms a major transport north–south transport route between

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

and

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

. In 2020, the highest traffic volumes were around Tallinn, with the

AADT Annual average daily traffic, abbreviated AADT, is a measure used primarily in transportation planning, transportation engineering and retail location selection. Traditionally, it is the total volume of vehicle traffic of a highway or road for a y ...

there being around 28,000. These are the second highest figures in Estonia, only being surpassed by the T1 outside Tallinn. The figures rise again around Pärnu, hovering around 10,000. The road is a

dual carriageway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...

for 14.1 kilometres. The section is between

Laagri Laagri is a small borough ( et, alevik) in Harju County, northern Estonia. It is located in Saue Parish Saue Parish ( Estonian: ''Saue vald'') is a rural municipality in Harju County, north-western Estonia. The administrative centre of Saue ...

and

Ääsmäe Ääsmäe is a settlement in Saue Parish, Harju County in northern Estonia. Ääsmäe Manor The manor in Ääsmäe traces its origins to 1574, when king John III of Sweden presented the estate as a gift to his secretary Johann Berends. The prese ...

which was built during the Soviet era. The section between Ääsmäe and

Kustja Kustja is a village in Saue Parish, Harju County in northern Estonia. (retrieved 27 July 2021) Prior to the administrative reform of Estonian local governments in 2017, the village belonged to Kernu Parish Kernu Parish ( et, Kernu vald) was a ...

has a 2+1 profile. Another 2+1 section is between Jänesselja and Nurme.

Route description

The T4 is a major north–south highway in Estonia connecting the capital of the country,

, to the fourth largest city in Estonia,

, and ultimately the

n border (where the Latvian A1 continues to

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

). The T4 is a part of the

, also known as the Via Baltica. The route bypasses all cities and towns, only having a 13-kilometre stretch in Tallinn. The highway begins in Tallinn from Viru Square and runs through the city for 13 kilometres. In the city, it intersects with the T8 at Freedom Square and the T15 at Järve. Shortly after crossing city borders, the road turns into a dual carriageway and interchanges with the T11 at Saue. At kilometre 27, the road meets with the T9 and turns into a 2+1 road. The road stays that way until Kustja, when the road turns into a regular 1+1 highway. The road continues in a straight, southbound manner until Pärnu. Before entering Pärnu, there is again a short 2+1 section between Jänesselja and Nurme. At Pärnu, the road turns left onto the Pärnu bypass (with a 70 km/h speed limit). The road has an intersection with the T5 here and crosses the Pärnu river. After this, the road turns left again, and shortly after Pärnu intersects with the T6. Afterwards the route follows the Estonian coast until Ikla, where the Latvian border is crossed and the road continues as the A1 in Latvia. Currently there are 11 speed cameras on the T4, between kilometres 92 and 141.

Road length of lane

References

External links

N4 {{Estonia-transport-stub

Route description

Road length of lane

See also

References

External links