State Highway 4 (SH 4), known locally as Boca Chica Boulevard, is an east–west
state highway
A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...
in the U.S. state of
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
that runs from the
Gateway International Bridge
Gateway International Bridge is one of three international bridges that cross the U.S.-Mexico border between the cities of Brownsville, Texas, and Matamoros, Tamaulipas. It is owned and operated by Cameron County. Over the past century, it ha ...
in
Brownsville to the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...
at
Boca Chica Beach
Boca Chica is an area on the eastern portion of a subdelta peninsula of Cameron County, at the far south of the US State of Texas along the Gulf Coast. It is bordered by the Brownsville Ship Channel to the north, the Rio Grande and Mexico to th ...
. Outside of Brownsville, it roughly parallels the
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico.
The length of the Rio G ...
. It is the southernmost Texas state highway.
History
left, 100px
SH 4 was one of the original twenty-five state highways proposed on June 21, 1917, overlaid on top of the
Del Rio – Canadian Highway. From 1917 the routing mostly followed present-day
U.S. Highway 83 from
Perryton,
Childress, to
Aspermont. From there, it followed present-day
FM 610 and
SH 70 to
Blackwell Blackwell may refer to:
Places
;Canada
* Blackwell, Ontario
;United Kingdom
* Blackwell, County Durham, England
* Blackwell, Carlisle, Cumbria, England
* Blackwell (historic house), South Lakeland, Cumbria, England
* Blackwell, Bolsover, Alfre ...
. It then continued down present-day
U.S. Highway 277 into
San Angelo
San Angelo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tom Green County, Texas, United States. Its location is in the Concho Valley, a region of West Texas between the Permian Basin to the northwest, Chihuahuan Desert to the southwest, Osage Plai ...
and
Sonora
Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...
and
Del Rio. On February 7, 1919, SH 4 was rerouted to end at
Uvalde, and the old route from Sonora to Del Rio was cancelled. On April 22, 1919, the branch to Del Rio was restored. The road at this time also had numerous alternate routes simultaneously marked as SH 4, along with occasionally signed SH 4A routes (although most of those routes were given their own numbers by the 1930s).
On August 21, 1923, the eastern branch from Sonora to Uvalde was renumbered as part of
State Highway 55. The section of SH 4 from Childress to Aspermont was cancelled, The section from Aspermont to San Angelo was renumbered as
SH 70, and the section south of San Angelo became part of
SH 30
The following highways are numbered 30:
International
* Asian Highway 30
* European route E30
Australia
* Albany Highway (State Route 30, Western Australia)
Brazil
* BR-030
Canada
* Alberta Highway 30 (defunct)
* British Columbia Highway 30 ...
. On September 9, 1927, SH 4 was extended through Aspermont to
Hamlin Hamlin may refer to:
Places
* Hamlin, Iowa, a city
* Hamlin, Kansas, a city
* Hamlin, Kentucky, a town
* Hamlin, Maine, a town
* Hamlin, Michigan, a former community
* Hamlin, New York, a town
** Hamlin (CDP), New York, a census-designated pl ...
, was concurrent with
SH 92 from Hamlin to Stamford, SH 30 from Stamford to Abilene, and
SH 7 from Abilene to
Santa Anna Santa Anna may refer to:
* Santa Anna, Texas, a town in Coleman County in Central Texas, United States
* Santa Anna, Starr County, Texas
* Santa Anna Township, DeWitt County, Illinois, one of townships in DeWitt County, Illinois, United States. ...
, and took over
SH 107 from
Santa Anna Santa Anna may refer to:
* Santa Anna, Texas, a town in Coleman County in Central Texas, United States
* Santa Anna, Starr County, Texas
* Santa Anna Township, DeWitt County, Illinois, one of townships in DeWitt County, Illinois, United States. ...
to
Brady
Brady may refer to:
People
* Brady (surname)
* Brady (given name)
* Brady (nickname)
* Brady Boone, a ring name of American professional wrestler Dean Peters (1958–1998)
Places in the United States
* Brady, Montana, a census-designated plac ...
. On December 6, 1927, SH 4 was rerouted on new construction from Hamlin to
Anson Anson may refer to:
People
* Anson (name), a give name and surname
** Anson family, a British aristocratic family with the surname
Place names
;United States
* Anson, Indiana
* Anson, Kansas
* Anson, Maine
** Anson (CDP), Maine
* Anson, Missour ...
, eliminating the concurrency with SH 92 and part of the concurrency with SH 30. On August 6, 1929 (not official until September 1, 1929), U.S. Highway 83 was extended into Texas, and SH 4 was rerouted to match US 83, following
SH 30
The following highways are numbered 30:
International
* Asian Highway 30
* European route E30
Australia
* Albany Highway (State Route 30, Western Australia)
Brazil
* BR-030
Canada
* Alberta Highway 30 (defunct)
* British Columbia Highway 30 ...
to
Ballinger, Texas
Ballinger ( ) is a city in Runnels County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,767 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Runnels County. Downtown Ballinger features historic 1800s buildings with shops and restaurants.
Geography
Ba ...
, replacing
SH 23 to
Junction
Junction may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Junction'' (film), a 2012 American film
* Jjunction, a 2002 Indian film
* Junction (album), a 1976 album by Andrew Cyrille
* Junction (EP), by Basement Jaxx, 2002
* Junction (manga), or ''Hot ...
, new construction to Uvalde, replacing
SH 55 to
Catarina, new construction (cancelling the portion of SH 55 from Catarina to
Artesia Wells; this would be restored as
SH 189 on November 30, 1932) to
Laredo, replacing
SH 12B to
Pharr, and replaced part of the now severely reworked
SH 12 to
Brownsville. The old route from Brady to Santa Anna was changed back to SH 107. On November 30, 1932, SH 4 was rerouted through Hidalgo. On January 19, 1935, this route was swapped with
SH 48. On February 11, 1935, SH 4 was extended to Boca Chica.
On September 26, 1939, the route was turned over to U.S. Route 83, with the only remaining portion of SH 4 being the current routing from Brownsville eastward, now known as the Boca Chica Highway. On May 29, 1997, SH 4 was extended southwest over the old route of US 77 and US 83 to the Gateway International Bridge.
Route description
SH 4 begins at the
Gateway International Bridge
Gateway International Bridge is one of three international bridges that cross the U.S.-Mexico border between the cities of Brownsville, Texas, and Matamoros, Tamaulipas. It is owned and operated by Cameron County. Over the past century, it ha ...
in downtown Brownsville, travelling northeast on International Blvd. A mile later, it reaches
I-69E/US 77/83. This first section was previously the final stretch of US 77 and 83 before they were rerouted to the southeast around downtown to the
Veteran's International Bridge
The Veterans International Bridge at Los Tomates is one of three international bridges that span the Mexico–United States border between the cities of Brownsville, Texas, and Matamoros, Tamaulipas. It is also known as simply as the Veterans Brid ...
. SH 4 continues northeast, passing the intersection with Farm to Market Road 1418, until it reaches an intersection with SH 48 at Boca Chica Blvd. SH 4 turns east onto Boca Chica Blvd. About a mile to the east is the cutoff for Farm to Market Road 2519, which leads to the
Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport
Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport is east of downtown Brownsville, Cameron County, Texas.
The Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport serves two airlines, six air taxis and offers three fixed-base operations ...
. SH 4 continues east, passing along the north side of the airport grounds and meeting intersections with Farm to Market Roads 313 and 511. SH 4 exits Brownsville continuing east near the southern side of the Port of Brownsville. This section passes a few historical landmarks, including the site of the
Battle of Palmito Ranch
The Battle of Palmito Ranch, also known as the Battle of Palmito Hill, is considered by some criteria as the final battle of the American Civil War. It was fought May 12 and 13, 1865, on the banks of the Rio Grande east of Brownsville, Texas, an ...
, site of the final battle of the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. The highway continues east-northeast, past
Boca Chica Village
Boca Chica Village, formerly Kennedy Shores, Kopernik Shores, is a small, unincorporated community in Cameron County, Texas, United States. It was formed in the late 1960s, and is still extant as of 2021, although the village proper has changed ...
and
SpaceX South Texas Launch Site
Starbase is a spaceport, production, and development facility for Starship rockets, located at Boca Chica, Texas, United States. It is in construction in the late 2010s and 2020s by SpaceX, an American aerospace manufacturer.
When conceptuali ...
, until it terminates at Boca Chica Beach and Brazos Island State Park on the Gulf of Mexico.
Major intersections
References
{{Attached_KML, Texas State Highway 4
004
Transportation in Cameron County, Texas