State Route 4 (SR 4), formerly known as Inter-county Highway 4 until 1921 and State Highway 4 in 1922, is a major north–south state highway in Ohio. It is the fifth longest state route in Ohio. Its southern terminus is at U.S. Route 42 in Cincinnati, Ohio, and its northern terminus is at U.S. Route 6 in Sandusky, Ohio. Its path is nearly ruler-straight for many miles. Some portions of the route are still marked as Dixie Highway. The northern portion was constructed by the Columbus and Sandusky Turnpike Company, see Turnpike Lands.
Route description
The portion from Cincinnati to Dayton primarily consists of arterial roads. State Route 4 begins at an intersection with U.S. Route 42 in the North Avondale neighborhood of Cincinnati. Initially called Paddock Road, it runs concurrently with Vine Street in northern Cincinnati, and then Springfield Pike as it passes through suburban northern Hamilton County. Upon crossing into Butler County, it curves to the west to pass near the downtowns of Fairfield and Hamilton, while Route 4 Bypass takes a more direct route.
The portion of SR 4 between High Street (SR 129) and North Fair Avenue in Hamilton is designated as the "Firefighter/Paramedic Patrick Wolterman Memorial Highway", in honor of a firefighter/paramedic for that city who died December 28, 2015, while battling an intentionally-set house fire. The two men who started the blaze were convicted of murder and arson in November 2017 and sentenced to life in prison. This portion of SR 4 passes by Wolterman's fire station.
From Hamilton to Dayton, the road roughly follows the Great Miami River. It turns northeast to run through downtown Middletown, and then crosses the river. Shortly after entering Dayton, it becomes concurrent with the U.S. Route 35 freeway and then Interstate 75. Route 4 then splits off as a freeway paralleling the Mad River. It then joins Interstate 70, with which it runs concurrently for over three miles. The route splits as a freeway again, until it becomes a one-way pair of surface streets in downtown Springfield.
North of Springfield, the route is primarily a two-lane rural highway until its end in Sandusky. It travels through downtown Mechanicsburg and Milford Center, but bypasses downtown Marysville. It then travels through the downtowns of Marion and Bucyrus, crossing the St. Lawrence River Divide in the latter. It finally heads northeast to Sandusky, where it ends.
History
In 1912 the Route ran from Sandusky to Columbus. In 1924 the Route extended south from Columbus on former SH 5, following current US 23 alignment from Portsmouth to Waldo, and current SR 423 from Waldo to Marion. In 1926, alignment from Portsmouth to Marion certified as US 23; SR 4 realigned south of Marion to its current southern terminus in Cincinnati, replacing the former SR 6 from Cincinnati to Middletown, the former SR 52 from Middletown to south of Milford Center, and the former SR 38 from Marysville to Marion.
In 1959 alignment from Dayton to Springfield rerouted and upgraded to freeway; segment through Fairborn around Wright-Patterson Air Force Base designated as SR 444. In 1967 the segment from SR 201 to SR 444 upgraded to freeway. In 2011 the Dayton segment was rerouted via I-75. In 2021 the Dayton segment rerouted from Germantown Pike to Gettysburg Avenue interchange with US 35.