The A 4 is a Portuguese

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

with a length of , running from

Matosinhos Matosinhos, Porto, Portugal () is a city and a municipality in the northern Porto district of Portugal, bordered in the south by the city of Porto (8 km from the city centre). The population in 2011 was 175,478, and covered an area of approx ...

to Amarante, where it narrows to become an IP road, signed as IP4 . The motorway leaves the metropolitan area of

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropo ...

, through the urban areas of

Ermesinde Ermesinde is a civil parish in the municipality (''concelho'') of Valongo, in continental Portugal, northeast of Porto. The population in 2011 was 38940,Valongo Valongo () is a Portuguese municipality located in the District of Porto and 10 km from Porto, in the northern region of Portugal. The municipality area consists of 75.12 km² and 93 858 inhabitants (2011), and is subdivided into fou ...

, Paredes,

Penafiel Penafiel ( or () is a municipality and former bishopric (now a Latin Catholic titular see) in the northern Portuguese district of Porto. Capital of the Tâmega Subregion, the population was 72,265 in 2011, in an area of . History The region ...

, until arriving at the mountainous town of Amarante. It is also known as one of the most dangerous motorways in the country, particularly the descent from Campo to

Valongo Valongo () is a Portuguese municipality located in the District of Porto and 10 km from Porto, in the northern region of Portugal. The municipality area consists of 75.12 km² and 93 858 inhabitants (2011), and is subdivided into fou ...

. Many improvements are being projected by the government in this respect. Tolls are levied.Portugal Tolls
Grande Porto
accessed 24 August 2018 In 2013 the highway was extended from

Serra do Marão Serra do Marão located in the border between Trás-os-Montes ( District of Vila Real) and Douro Litoral ( District of Porto) regions, is the sixth highest mountain in Continental Portugal, rising up to 1415 meters. References in Língua Portug ...

to Bragança and the Portugal–Spain border, where it connects to the

N-122 road (Spain) The N-122 is a highway in Spain. It connects Valladolid and Zaragoza to the Portugal–Spain border, where it connects to the A4 motorway (Portugal), this section was formerly the IP-4 and is now part of the European route E82 to Matosinhos. ...

. The extension will also include a bridge reaching a height above ground of . Once extended the A4 will become Portugal's third-longest motorway, with a length of .

Marão tunnel

On 7 May 2016, the Marão Tunnel was opened to traffic. The Túnel do Marão is Portugal's longest road tunnel, long.

References

Motorways in Portugal {{Portugal-road-stub