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Route 4

History

Route 4 was one of the original highway numbers assigned in New Brunswick. 80 years later, nothing's changed whatsoever.

Guide

Route 4 is a relatively short highway. Until the construction of Interstate 95 in Maine, it was part of the main route from Fredericton to Bangor. It has somehow managed to maintain its designation as a primary route. From Route 3 at Thomaston's Corner near York Mills, Route 4 runs west through thick forest land along a series of ridges to the village of McAdam.

McAdam is an isolated village that grew up in the 1870s as a railway junction. A large, imposing railway station on the west side of the village was built to handle the freight passenger traffic. Although it was abandoned, it is in the process of being restored. A wallboard plant owned by BPB Canada on the east side is the village's major employer today.

West of McAdam, Route 4 follows an old railbed, the route of one of New Brunswick's first railways; built by a lumberman named Todd in the 1860s to transfer his wares from McAdam to the St. Croix River. The railway was supplanted by a larger, more modern one immediately to the south ten years later. At the small community of St. Croix, Route 4 crosses the river to the town of Vanceboro, Maine.

Junction List

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