End of US highway 4 in Portsmouth NH

View a map showing this route.

Photo credits: Carter Buchanan, Andy Field, Dan Moraseski, Alex Nitzman

Note: photos of historic endpoints in Portsmouth can be viewed here. This page picks up with the current endpoint.

As far as I know, the official east terminus of US 4 is still the Portsmouth Traffic Circle. However, actual signage at the Circle currently indicates otherwise, and signage elsewhere suggests a couple other endpoints.

The road heading southwest from the Circle is an onramp serving both directions of I-95:

Moraseski, Jan. 2003

Southeast from the Circle is southbound BYP US 1...

Moraseski, Jan. 2003

...while northbound BYP US 1 heads northeast from the Circle:

Moraseski, Jan. 2003

The road to the northwest from the Circle was formerly signed as if it was the east beginning of US 4...

Moraseski, Jan. 2003

...but signage has now been changed to read that it's NH hwy. 16, leading "TO Spaulding Tpk" and "TO US 4":

Field/Nitzman, Aug. 2007

In the past, if you went that way, under the green I-95 bridges, the first westbound US 4 sign used to look like this...

Moraseski, Jan. 2003

...but now that's been removed. The first confirming assembly is now further ahead, and it repeats the notion that we're actually not yet on US 4 (nor the Spaulding):

Field/Nitzman, Aug. 2007

Ahead traffic reduces into a single lane, in advance of the merging traffic lane coming in from I-95. It's at that point where signage changes to indicate that we are indeed on US 4 now (as well as the Spaulding):

Field/Nitzman, Aug. 2007

That signage has since been replaced:

Google Maps Street View, 2008

This would seem to suggest that US 4 is no longer routed to the Circle, but rather that it hitches a ride with the portion of the Spaulding that provides a direct connection from here to I-95's exit 4. Signage from northbound I-95 backs up that theory:

Moraseski, Jan. 2003

Note in these photos how the left-hand exit to the Spaulding is also referred to as if it's mainline US 4. (But then again, it's also referred to as mainline NH 16, which contradicts the signage we've already seen above.) Control points for US 4 alternate between "Newington/Dover" and "NH Lakes/White Mountains".

Moraseski, Jan. 2003

Buchanan/Nitzman, June 2005

Above and below: direct access to US 4 is to the left, but we'll exit right to Portsmouth Circle, just to see what signage is there:

Moraseski, Jan. 2003

The map diagram posted on the off-ramp used to indicate that it was mainline US 4 to the north...

Moraseski, Jan. 2003

...but now its replacement (along with all other signage here) has been changed as well, to indicate "TO US 4".

Again, all these signs so far suggest that US 4 is now concurrent with the Spaulding, so let's see whether signage on southbound Spaulding/eastbound US 4 backs that up. The BGS approaching the split is inconclusive...

Google Maps Street View, 2008

...but ground signage just ahead (at the physical gore) is interesting. Unfortunately I don't have any good photos, so I'll describe them: the left-hand sign says "South NH 16 to North I-95", while the sign on the right says "South Spaulding Tpk to South I-95". No mention of US 4 whatsoever. So the east terminus of US 4 is somewhat ambiguous, at least in terms of how it's signed.

Following are some other approaches to US 4. Southbound I-95 must use exit 5 to access US 4:

Buchanan/Nitzman, June 2005

If you take that exit, you merge with traffic using the flyover from northbound I-95, and the first signage after that is shown below:

Buchanan/Nitzman, June 2005

The bridge in the distance carries southbound NH 16 traffic heading for the Circle. The right exit ahead connects northbound traffic to that road, taking it back south to the Circle. If you were to go that way, you'd see the assembly below:

Buchanan/Nitzman, June 2005

These last two photos show the approach to the rotary from southbound BYP US 1:

Field/Nitzman, Aug. 2007

Field/Nitzman, Aug. 2007

As I've said, info and photos about US 4's historic endpoints in Portsmouth can be viewed on this page. To read about (and see photos of) US 4's other endpoints, view my main US 4 page.