 U.S. Route 4 | ||||
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 US 4 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by NYSDOT and the cities of Troy and Mechanicville | ||||
| Length | 79.67 mi[1] (128.22 km) | |||
| Existed | 1926[2]–present | |||
| Tourist routes |  Lakes to Locks Passage | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |   US 9 / US 20 in East Greenbush | |||
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| North end |  US 4 at the Vermont state line in Hampton | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | New York | |||
| Counties | Rensselaer, Saratoga, Washington | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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U.S. Route 4 (US 4) is a part of the United States Numbered Highway System that runs from East Greenbush, New York, to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. In the U.S. state of New York, US 4 extends 79.67 miles (128.22 km) from an intersection with US 9 and US 20 in East Greenbush to the Vermont state line northeast of Whitehall. While the remainder of US 4 east of New York is an east–west route, US 4 in New York is signed north–south due to the alignment the route takes through the state. The portion of the route between Waterford and Whitehall is part of the Lakes to Locks Passage, an All-American Road.
The route runs along the Hudson River from Troy to Hudson Falls and the Champlain Canal from Fort Ann to Whitehall. It passes through several riverside and canalside communities, including two cities (Troy and Mechanicville) and seven villages. US 4 crosses several major east–west highways as it proceeds north, such as Interstate 90 (I-90) in East Greenbush, New York State Route 7 (NY 7) in Troy, NY 29 in Schuylerville, and NY 149 in Fort Ann. It also overlaps with the north–south NY 22 for six miles (9.7 km) from Comstock to Whitehall and with NY 32 for a total of 16 miles (26 km) between Waterford and Bemis Heights and from Schuylerville to Northumberland.
US 4 was assigned in 1926 and initially extended from Glens Falls to the Vermont border near Whitehall by way of Hudson Falls. The route utilized part of NY 6 and NY 30, two highways assigned in 1924. US 4 was extended southward to its present terminus in East Greenbush as part of the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York. Much of US 4 south of Hudson Falls initially overlapped with other routes; most of the overlaps were gradually eliminated during the 1940s and 1950s as the concurrent routes were eliminated or truncated. At one time, US 4 overlapped with NY 32 from Waterford to Northumberland with no interruption in between. The concurrency was split into two shorter overlaps when US 4 was realigned in the 1950s to follow its current alignment between Bemis Heights and Schuylerville.