History
Although segments of Route 4 were part of the state highway system since 1909, Route 4 was officially designated as such between US Route 40 (now Interstate 80) and State Route 99 in 1934. Prior to that date, the then existing segment was officially known as the "Borden Highway", and the bridge over the San Joaquin River is still referred to as the "Borden Highway Bridge" in tidal tables. Construction of Route 4 did not finish until 1935, however.
The portion of Route 4 from US Route 40 to State Route 24 was added to the highway system in 1933 as Legislative Route Number (LRN) 106. East of the concurrency with State Route 24 to State Route 49, Route 4 was designated as LRN 75 from 1931-1934. Finally, the segment from State Route 49 to State Route 89 was signed as LRN 24 from 1909 to 1934.
From 2008 to 2009, a road built by the State Route 4 Bypass Authority, named the State Route 4 Bypass, opened in three phases, bypassing Route 4 in Oakley and Brentwood to the south and west. Many of the signs and local maps designated this extension as simply "Bypass Road." A section of Marsh Creek Road was widened to serve as the connection between the bypass built by the authority and the original Route 4 towards Stockton. In 2012, Caltrans handed over authority for State Route 4 in Oakley and Brentwood to the respective cities. In return, it gained control of the bypass and the upgraded section of Marsh Creek Road, which officially became State Route 4.
Only the portion of the bypass from California SR 160 to Lone Tree Way interchange is a multi-lane freeway. The portion from Lone Tree Way to Vasco Road is single-lane each way and have signal-controlled grade crossings at Sand Creek Road, Balfour Road and Marsh Creek Road. In May 2010, this narrow stretch of the road handled 27,000 to 30,000 vehicles per day. In 2011, Caltrans awarded $25 million toward upgrading the section from Lone Tree Way to Sand Creek Road to a full freeway and constructing an interchange at Sand Creek Road.
The freeway segment of Route 4 in Stockton is part of a proposed route to upgrade Route 99 into a future Interstate highway. Under one proposal, the new interstate would go along Route 99 from the split with I-5 at Wheeler Ridge north through Fresno to Stockton, where the proposed route would then turn west via the Route 4 freeway to a terminus at I-5.
Read more about this topic: California State Route 4
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