U.S. Route 4 (US 4) is a long

United States highway The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these hi ...

that runs from

East Greenbush, New York East Greenbush is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Rensselaer County, New York, Rensselaer County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is a suburb of Albany, New York, Albany. The population was 16,473 at the 2010 cen ...

, in the west to

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

, in the east, traversing

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

. In

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, 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 is bordered by 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 US highways.

Route description

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

New York

In the state of

, US 4 begins at the concurrency of

US 9 U.S. Route 9 (US 9) is a north–south United States highway in the states of Delaware, New Jersey, and New York in the Northeastern United States. It is one of only two U.S. Highways with a ferry connection (the Cape May–Lewes Ferry, betwe ...

and

US 20 U.S. Route 20 or U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that stretches from the Pacific Northwest east to New England. The "0" in its route number indicates that US 20 is a major coast-to-coast route. S ...

in East Greenbush. Heading northward, it has an interchange with

I-90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...

, continuing northward into

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...

. In Troy, it passes by

Hudson Valley Community College Hudson Valley Community College is a public community college in Troy, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY). Although about eighty percent of the students are from the Capital District, the remainder are from other pa ...

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 The Green Island Bridge crosses the Hudson River in New York, connecting Green Island with Troy, passing through Starbuck Island. It opened September 12, 1981. History The original Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad bridge was a wood-truss cove ...

, later passing under the

Collar City Bridge The Collar City Bridge (also known as the Hoosick Street Bridge) carries NYS Route 7 (NY 7) across the Hudson River connecting Colonie, New York with Troy, by way of passing over Green Island. Though the northern terminus of Interstate 7 ...

and into Lansingburgh. After Lansingburgh, US 4 turns left to cross the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

on the Troy-Waterford Bridge, entering

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

, joining with

NY 32 New York State Route 32 (NY 32) is a north–south state highway that extends for through the Hudson Valley and Capital District, New York, Capital District regions of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is a two-lane sur ...

to head north together west of the Hudson. After Mechanicville, US 4 and NY 32 split, and US 4 passes by the

Battle of Saratoga The Battles of Saratoga (September 19 and October 7, 1777) marked the climax of the Saratoga campaign, giving a decisive victory to the Americans over the British in the American Revolutionary War. British General John Burgoyne led an invasion ...

and the Saratoga National Cemetery. NY 32 joins again to pass through

Schuylerville Schuylerville () is a village in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The village is located in the northeastern part of the Town of Saratoga, east of Saratoga Springs. The Village of Victory is adjacent to Schuylerville to the southwest ...

, after which US 4 splits off to cross the Hudson one last time. Running parallel to the

Champlain Canal The Champlain Canal is a canal in New York that connects the Hudson River to the south end of Lake Champlain. It was simultaneously constructed with the Erie Canal for use by commercial vessels, fully opening in 1823. Today, it is mostly used by ...

, US 4 passes through villages including Fort Edward,

Hudson Falls Hudson Falls (formerly Sandy Hill) is a village located in Washington County, New York, United States. The village is in the southwest of the town of Kingsbury, on U.S. Route 4. Hudson Falls is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Are ...

, Fort Ann and

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. 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 is the main ...

. 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 VT 4A, which later becomes Business US 4 as it enters

Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...

. South of Rutland, US 4 meets

US 7 U.S. Route 7 (US 7) is a north–south United States highway in western New England that runs for through the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. The highway's southern terminus is at Interstate 95 (I-95) exit 15 ...

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. The range runs primarily south to north and extends approximately from the border with Massachusetts to the border with Quebec, Canada. The part of the same range that is in ...

, passing by Killington, going through

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...

and Quechee, crossing the

Quechee Gorge The Quechee Gorge is located in Quechee, Vermont along U.S. Route 4. The gorge is 165 feet deep and is the deepest gorge in Vermont. It serves as a popular tourist attraction in Quechee State Park and can be viewed from the U.S. Route 4 bridge an ...

, and meeting

US 5 U.S. Route 5 (US 5) is a north–south United States highway running through the New England states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Significant cities along the route include New Haven, Connecticut; Hartford, Connecticut; and Spring ...

I-89 Interstate 89 (I-89) is an Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States traveling from Bow, New Hampshire, to the Canadian border between Highgate Springs, Vermont, and Saint-Armand, Quebec. As with all odd-numbered p ...

, and

I-91 Interstate 91 (I-91) is an Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States. It provides the primary north–south thoroughfare in the western part of the region. The Interstate generally follows the course of the Connecti ...

White River Junction White River Junction is an unincorporated village and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Hartford in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,528 at the 2020 census, up from 2,286 in 2010, making it the largest co ...

. 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 at Long Island ...

, US 4 enters New Hampshire.

New Hampshire

In the state of

, US 4 passes through

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

, meeting I-89 again. It then heads southeast to Boscawen, where it briefly overlaps

US 3 U.S. Route 3 (US 3) is a United States highway running from Cambridge, Massachusetts, through New Hampshire, to the Canada–US border near Third Connecticut Lake, where it connects to Quebec Route 257. Massachusetts Route 3 connects t ...

before joining

I-93 Interstate 93 (I-93) is an Interstate Highway in the New England states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont in the United States. Spanning approximately along a north–south axis, it is one of three primary Interstate Highways ...

into

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony) * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...

. Turning east, US 4 briefly overlaps

I-393 Interstate 393 (I-393) is a east–west auxiliary Interstate Highway extending from I-93 at Concord to Pembroke, New Hampshire. The primary purpose of the road is to bypass a densely built commercial strip on New Hampshire Route 9 (NH&nb ...

and for a longer stretch with

US 202 U.S. Route 202 (US 202) is a spur route of US 2. It follows a northeasterly and southwesterly direction stretching from Delaware to Maine, also traveling through the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Mass ...

. Passing through

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county *Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...

, US 4 joins the

Spaulding Turnpike The Spaulding Turnpike is a north-south toll road in eastern New Hampshire. Nearly its entire length is overlapped by New Hampshire Route 16. Its southern terminus is at the Portsmouth Traffic Circle (Interstate 95 / U.S. Route 1 Bypass) in Port ...

at Dover Point and travels southeast to its eastern terminus in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

at the

Portsmouth Traffic Circle The Portsmouth Traffic Circle is a four-point rotary in the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Description The southern exit of the circle provides access to Interstate 95 north and south, although only northbound I-95 traffic enters here. The e ...

History

Prior to being designated US 4, the road from

Whitehall, New York Whitehall is a town in Washington County, New York, United States. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town population was 4,035 at the 2000 census. The Town of Whitehall contains a village also named Whitehall. Hi ...

eastward through Vermont was

New England Interstate , , , , , The New England road marking system was a regional system of marked numbered routes in the six-state region of New England in the United States. The routes were marked by a yellow rectangular sign with black numbers and border. M ...

Route 13 (NE-13). From the Vermont-New Hampshire state line to

Franklin, New Hampshire Franklin is a city in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 8,741, the least of New Hampshire's 13 cities. Franklin includes the village of West Franklin. History Situated at the confluence of the ...

, it was the eastern extension of NE-14. From Franklin to

Concord, New Hampshire Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2020 census the population was 43,976, making it the third largest city in New Hampshire behind Manchester and Nashua. The village of ...

it used NE-6 (now

), and from Concord to

Northwood, New Hampshire Northwood is a New England town, town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,641 at the 2020 census. History First settled in 1763, Northwood was incorporated on February 6, ...

it used NE-9 (now NH-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 census, making it the largest city in the New Hampshire Seacoast region and the fifth largest municipality in the state. It is the county se ...

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

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

History of termini

1926-1930:

Glens Falls, New York Glens Falls is a city in Warren County, New York, United States and is the central city of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,700 at the 2010 census. The name was given by Colonel Johannes Glen, the falls refe ...

at the point where

split into

US 9W U.S. Route 9W (US 9W) is a north–south U.S. Highway in the states of New Jersey and New York. It begins in Fort Lee, New Jersey, as Fletcher Avenue crosses the US 1–9, US 46, and the Interstate 95 (I-95) approache ...

and 9E, to

.
1930–:

, following former US 9E, through its former west terminus, to

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 capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

: in Hartford. The highways travel concurrently to

. ;New Hampshire : in

: in Lebanon : in Boscawen. The highways travel concurrently through the city. : in

. 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

Route description

New York

Vermont

New Hampshire

History

History of termini

Major intersections

See also

Special routes

Related routes

References

External links