 The origins of Route 4 date back to 1952 , when construction began on a short , unnumbered arterial from US 1 to the modern location of exit 5 at Routes 2 and 102 in Wickford . In 1965 , the Rhode Island Department of Public Works began work on a 5 @.@ 4 @-@ mile ( 8 @.@ 7 km ) freeway from modern exit 6 north to the merge with I @-@ 95 . The freeway , designated as Route 4 , was completed in 1972 . At that time , the Route 4 designation was also applied to the Wickford arterial . In 1988 , the missing link in Route 4 between exits 5 and 6 was completed and opened . The Rhode Island Department of Transportation has long @-@ term plans to upgrade the southernmost portion of Route 4 to freeway status by constructing overpasses at Oak Hill Road and West Allenton Road and a grade separation with US 1 . Although the project was originally scheduled to be completed by 2007 , the $ 55 million project has been postponed indefinitely . 
