page_title: California State Route 4
section_title: Route description
hierarchical_section_title: California State Route 4 / Route description
caption_attribution_description: English: Intersection of California State Routes 4 &amp; 89.
context_page_description: State Route 4 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California, routed from Interstate 80 in the San Francisco Bay Area to State Route 89 in the Sierra Nevada. It roughly parallels the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, a popular area for boating and fishing, with a number of accesses to marinas and other attractions. After crossing the Central Valley, the highway ascends up the Sierra foothills. It passes through Ebbetts Pass and contains the Ebbetts Pass Scenic Byway, a National Scenic Byway.
context_section_description: SR 4, an east–west highway, begins in Hercules at San Pablo Avenue next to the Interstate 80 junction as part of John Muir Parkway. (The actual parkway extends a bit past the western terminus.) The road is an expressway from its starting point until it approaches Martinez, at which point it becomes a full freeway (the California Delta Highway) passing Concord, Pittsburg, and Antioch.  The John Muir National Historic Site is located directly north of Route 4 on Alhambra Avenue in Martinez.  Alhambra Avenue at SR 4 is also the site of the Franklin Canyon Adobe. Two gauges of BART tracks run in the median of the freeway from the Port Chicago Highway interchange in Concord to just east of the Hillcrest Avenue interchange in Antioch, where the light rail line currently ends at the Antioch station. After Antioch, the freeway turns southward at its intersection with State Route 160, turning into a suburban and rural road bypassing the Bay Area's rapidly growing and outermost eastern suburbs (Oakley, Brentwood and Discovery Bay, California); and continues east across Victoria Island. This section is also known as the John Marsh Heritage Highway.
  Route 4 east continues to Stockton, where it briefly joins I-5 and then enters a separate freeway (known locally as the Crosstown Freeway) routing almost directly through downtown Stockton. The route then runs concurrent with State Route 99 before running eastward into the Sierra through Angels Camp, one of the richest quartz mining sections of the Mother Lode and home of "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County", and Calaveras Big Trees State Park. The route runs through the 8,050 ft (2,450 m). Pacific Grade Summit on its way up to the 8,730 ft (2,660 m) Ebbetts Pass and ends at State Route 89 ten miles (16 km) west of Topaz Lake, on the California–Nevada border. Signage indicating that SR 4 continues up to Woodfords exists in Woodfords heading Westbound, including reassurance shields for both SR 89 and SR 4 on top of the mileage sign just south of town. Eastbound signage for SR 4 stops at the intersection with SR 89. The portion from Arnold to its terminus is designated the Ebbetts Pass Scenic Byway, which is eventually one lane.
  Through the mountains, SR 4 is not suitable for large trucks, buses, or RVs, as it becomes very steep and eventually single-track, with no center dividing line shortly after the Mount Reba Turnoff to Bear Valley Ski area, with tight switchbacks. The pass is not plowed for snow, and thus closes during the winter months, often from November through as late as May. Thus, no passage between the Mount Reba Turnoff and Markleeville is possible. The western slope is plowed and rarely closes, even for a few hours, but often has chain restrictions during and immediately following storms, usually just east of Arnold. The eastern slope is not plowed.
  SR 4 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System, and from just west of Stockton to SR 49 is part of the National Highway System, a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration. SR 4 is eligible to be included in the State Scenic Highway System; however, it is only a scenic highway as designated by Caltrans from a point east of Arnold to SR 89, meaning that it is a substantial section of highway passing through a "memorable landscape" with no "visual intrusions", where the potential designation has gained popular favor with the community. SR 4 is also known as part of the John Muir Parkway from I-80 in Hercules to I-680 near Martinez, named for the environmentalist John Muir. The stretch through Franklin Canyon was once known as "Blood Alley".
caption: Intersection of California State Routes 4 & 89
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