N4 road (Belgium)

National Route 4 shield}}
National Route 4
Dutch: Nationale Weg 4
French: Route nationale 4
N4-Marche.jpg
The N4 near Assesse
Route information
Part of E46
(between Marche and Tenneville)
Length192 km (119 mi)
Major junctions
FromBrussels
Major intersectionsWavre
Namur
Marche-en-Famenne
Bastogne
ToArlon
Location
CountryBelgium
Highway system
  • Highways of Belgium

The N4 road in Belgium is a highway that runs from Brussels to Luxembourg. It starts as chaussée de Wavre at Porte de Namur on the Brussels inner ring and runs south east through Wavre and Namur, Marche-en-Famenne, Bastogne, Martelange and Arlon before terminating as route de Luxembourg at the Luxembourg border. On its route is crosses the Meuse and Lessive Rivers and the Belgian Ardennes.

Before the development of motorways the N4 was a main artery for traffic going south east from Brussels and it was dotted with many friteries, cafes and petrol stations.

From the 1960s to the end of the 1980s, it has been superseded by the completion of the A4 motorway which runs from Delta in Brussels down past Arlon where shortly after it enters Luxembourg where it becomes part of the Luxembourg by-pass system until it reaches the south of the city where it turns south continuing down to Thionville and Metz in France and onwards. By diverting the traffic away from the N4 the motorway has caused the closure of most of these traditional Belgian friteries.[citation needed]

Outside of major towns the N4 mostly consists of dual carriageway with the opposing lanes separated by a central reservation or concrete blocks, but certain sections are still without any form of physical separation and have been the scene of many fatal accidents.

The N4 still offers a more pleasurable and scenic route to the south of Belgium for the less pressed driver and for bicyclists. The end sections remain busy routes during the rush hour due to the high number of commuters travelling to and from Brussels and Luxembourg from residential communities all over the area. Stretches of the road continue to be renovated.

The N4 crosses or borders 29 municipalities in total. 4 of them in the Brussels Capital Region, 2 in Flemish Brabant, 5 in Walloon Brabant, 7 in Namur and 11 in Luxembourg. Full municipality list below,[1] with main municipalities in bold.

Region Province Municipality Population Length of N4 (km)
 Brussels Capital Region / City of Brussels 188737 0.2
Ixelles 87052 1.4
Etterbeek 48535 1.9
Auderghem 34986 2.1
 Flanders  Flemish Brabant Tervuren 22852 0.1
Overijse 25888 8.7
 Wallonia  Walloon Brabant Wavre 35111 8.7
Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve 31363 2.9
Mont-Saint-Guibert 8081 2.5
Walhain 7485 3.9
Chastre 7727 0.3
 Namur Gembloux 26330 12.6
La Bruyère 9316 3.1
Namur 112559 17.6
Assesse 7274 11.7
Hamois 7386 7.5
Ciney 17007 8.1
Somme-Leuze 5975 6.5
 Luxembourg Marche-en-Famenne 17758 9.0
Nassogne 5632 12.1
Tenneville 2884 12.7
Bertogne 5233 6.9
Sainte-Ode 2655 8.9
Bastogne 16618 10.1
Vaux-sur-Sûre 6023 1.9
Fauvillers 2368 10.4
Martelange 1931 9.1
Attert 5624 8.1
Arlon 30818 11.8
  1. ^ "Belgium: Regions, Provinces, Arrondissements, Cities, Municipalities, Sub-Municipalities, Agglomerations, Sectors - Population Statistics in Maps and Charts". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 2023-03-30.