U.S. Route 4 in Vermont

U.S. Route 4
Route information
Maintained by VTrans
Length: 66.059 mi[1] (106.312 km)
Existed: 1926 – present
Major junctions
West end: US 4 at Hampton, NY
  US 7 in Rutland
VT 100 in Killington
I-89 in Hartford
East end: US 4 at West Lebanon, NH
Highway system

United States Numbered Highways
List • Bannered • Divided • Replaced

State highways in Vermont

← VT 3 VT 4A →
← Route 12A N.E. Route 14 →

In the U.S. state of Vermont, U.S. Route 4 extends for 66.06 miles (106.31 km) between the New York state line at Fair Haven and the New Hampshire state line at White River Junction. It is one of the main arteries between New York and New Hampshire.[2]

Contents

Route description

Upon crossing into Vermont from New York, U.S. Route 4 immediately expands from a two-lane highway to a four-lane expressway. US-4 changes from being signed north–south (in New York) to being signed east- west (in Vermont). The historic routing of US-4 runs nearby as Route 4A, which later becomes U.S. Route 4 Business as it enters the town of Rutland.

The 19-mile (31 km) US-4 expressway was built in anticipation of the proposed, but never built, Interstate 92 freeway which was supposed to link the population centers of northern New England. As such, this section of freeway meets Interstate Highway standards. The freeway has junctions with Route 22A in Fair Haven and Route 30 in Castleton. In West Rutland, the last numbered exit on the highway, Exit 6, leads to U.S. Route 4 Business, which provides access to the town centers of West Rutland and Rutland town. The expressway veers south just outside the limits of Rutland city, ending at an at-grade intersection with U.S. Route 7 south of the city.[3]

US-4 overlaps with US-7 north into downtown Rutland, meeting the east end of its business route along the way. US-4 then leaves US-7 along Woodstock Avenue as it heads northeast out of the city. East of Rutland city, US-4 is a two-lane highway, meandering through the Green Mountains, passing by the town center of Mendon towards the town of Killington. In Killington, US-4 joins the Route 100 as they pass through Killington center along the Ottauquechee River valley until the village of West Bridgewater at the Bridgewater town line. Route 100 splits off to the south while US-4 continues following the Ottauquechee River east through Bridgewater center into the town of Woodstock. Several miles later, US-4 enters the incorporated village of Woodstock, where it meets Route 12 and Route 106. Southbound Route 12 and eastbound US-4 overlap for about 4 miles (6.4 km) along the river and split at the village of Taftsville, in the northwest corner of the town of Hartland.[4]

US-4 continues following the Ottauquechee River into the town of Hartford, passing by Quechee Gorge State Park and circling around Deweys Pond heading north to the south bank of the White River. Here, US-4 has an interchange with Interstate 89, then turns eastward following the river bank into the village of White River Junction. In the village, US-4 joins U.S. Route 5 as they cross the White River. At a four-way intersection immediately after the crossing, US-5 continues north, Route 14 begins to the west, and US-4 continues to the east. US-4 crosses the New Hampshire state line at the Connecticut River after a quarter of a mile.[5]

History

The road running from the New York state line (towards Whitehall, New York) at Fair Haven eastward through Rutland and Woodstock to White River Junction was designated as Route 13 of the New England road marking system in 1922.[6][7] In late 1926, New England Route 13 was incorporated into the newly established U.S. Highway System as U.S. Route 4.[8] In the 1960s, construction of the 19-mile (31 km) expressway section of US 4 began. The middle segment of the expressway from Exit 5 in Castleton to Exit 6 in West Rutland opened to traffic in 1969. Two years later, the western segment from the New York line in Fair Haven to Exit 5 also opened. The original surface alignment of US 4 was re-designated as Vermont Route 4A. The construction of the eastern segment (from Exit 6 to the intersection with US 7) was delayed for several years and did not open to traffic until 1986.[9] The original surface alignment east of Exit 6 was redesignated as US 4 Business.

Major intersections

Exit list (Fair Haven to Rutland freeway segment)

County Location Mile[1] # Destinations Notes
Rutland Fair Haven 0.000 U.S. Route 4 continues into New York
0.150 1 VT 4A – Fair Haven To Vermont Welcome Center
1.676 2 VT 22A – Fair Haven, Vergennes
2.573 3 To VT 4A – Fair Haven Westbound exit and eastbound entrance.
Castleton 5.449 4 VT 30 – Castleton, Middlebury
7.758 5 To VT 4A – Castleton To Castleton State College
West Rutland 14.899 6
BR US 4 to VT 3 to VT 4A – West Rutland, Rutland Business District
Town of Rutland 18.829 US 7 south At-grade intersection; US 4 joins US 7 eastbound and leaves westbound

Rutland to White River Junction

County Location Mile[1] Destinations Notes
Rutland
 City of Rutland 20.929
BR US 4		 Eastern terminus of US-4 Business
21.066 US 7 north Northern terminus of concurrency
Killington 31.593 VT 100 north Western terminus of concurrency
Windsor
 West Bridgewater 38.030 VT 100 south Eastern terminus of concurrency
Bridgewater 43.642 VT 100A Northern terminus of VT 100A
Village of Woodstock ~51.6 VT 106 Northern terminus of VT 106
51.755 VT 12 north Western terminus of concurrency
Hartland 55.637 VT 12 south Eastern terminus of concurrency
Hartford 62.417 I-89 Exit 1 (I-89)
65.261 US 5 south Western terminus of concurrency
White River Junction 65.822 US 5 north / VT 14 Eastern terminus of concurrency; southern terminus of VT 14
66.059 US 4 Continuation into New Hampshire at the Connecticut River
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
     Concurrency terminus •      Closed •      Unopened

Bannered routes

Rutland business loop


U.S. Route 4 Business
Location: Rutland, Vermont

U.S. Route 4 Business is a 4.371-mile (7.034 km) alternate route of US 4 serving the city of Rutland and running north of US 4. It begins at Exit 6 of the US 4 expressway in West Rutland heading north to Main Street in West Rutland center, where it meets the east end of Vermont Route 4A. US 4 Business then turns east following Main Street into the town of Rutland. In Rutland town, the road is known as Rutland Road and intersects with Vermont Route 3 at the town center. About 0.3 miles (0.48 km) later, the road enters the city of Rutland, becoming West Street. US 4 Business briefly shifts north one block to use State Street then returns to West Street after half a mile. The route ends at an intersection with US 4/US 7 in the center of the city.

References

  1. ^ a b c "2006 (Route Log) AADTs - State Highways". Vermont Agency of Transportation. 2007. http://www.aot.state.vt.us/Planning/Documents/TrafResearch/Publications/2006%20Route%20Log%20AADTs%20State%20Highways-Final.pdf. Retrieved 2008-02-24. 
  2. ^ Shinn, Peggy (January 18, 2009). Not so fast (or else) on these Vermont highways. Boston Globe. 
  3. ^ Google, Inc. Google Maps – Fair Haven to Rutland (Map). Cartography by Google, Inc. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=8128530907605638935,43.586482,-73.295244&saddr=US-4+%4043.586482,+-73.295244&daddr=43.57851,-72.966685&mra=mi&mrsp=1,0&sz=16&sll=43.579443,-72.963488&sspn=0.007337,0.014462&ie=UTF8&ll=43.591333,-73.144226&spn=0.234735,0.462799&z=11. Retrieved June 8, 2009. 
  4. ^ Google, Inc. Google Maps – Rutland to Taftville (Map). Cartography by Google, Inc. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=7902683450826369626,43.578520,-72.966660&saddr=US-4+E+%4043.578520,+-72.966660&daddr=43.626912,-72.458868&mra=mi&mrsp=1&sz=15&sll=43.626694,-72.447796&sspn=0.014662,0.028925&ie=UTF8&ll=43.619176,-72.692413&spn=0.469254,0.925598&z=10. Retrieved June 8, 2009. 
  5. ^ Google, Inc. Google Maps – Taftville to White River Junction (Map). Cartography by Google, Inc. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=5170900557941111263,43.626940,-72.458850&saddr=US-4%2FVT-12%2FWoodstock+Rd+%4043.626940,+-72.458850&daddr=43.650827,-72.314737&mra=mi&mrsp=1&sz=16&sll=43.650547,-72.310123&sspn=0.007328,0.014462&ie=UTF8&ll=43.642784,-72.384453&spn=0.117267,0.2314&z=12. Retrieved June 8, 2009. 
  6. ^ Motor Sign Uniformity, New York Times, April 16, 1922
  7. ^ Automobile Legal Association Green Book, 1925 edition, (Scarborough Motor Guide Co., Boston, 1925). The book has a route log of the New England inter-state routes showing the planned alignment in 1922.
  8. ^ Official Automobile Blue Book, Vol. 1, 1926 and 1927 editions, (Automobile Blue Books Inc., Chicago, 1926 and 1927). The 1926 map shows routes just prior to the designation of U.S. Highways.
  9. ^ Vermont Agency of Transportation (Policy and Planning Division - Mapping), State Highways History with Route Log Notes, 2007-10-05

External links

U.S. Route 4
Previous state:
New York		 Vermont Next state:
New Hampshire