A4 motorway (Switzerland)

A4
Location of the A4 within Switzerland
Route information
Length:	165 km (103 mi)
Highway system
Highways in Switzerland Motorways of Switzerland

Highways in Switzerland

The A4 motorway in Switzerland begins from Schaffhausen, in northern Switzerland, and travels southward into central Switzerland.

The general route of A4 is: Bargen - Schaffhausen - Winterthur - Zürich - Central Switzerland.

The A4 starts out as an Autostrasse road at the border crossing Bargen / Neuhaus am Randen, at the border to Germany, crossing a suspension bridge at Schaffhausen over the Rhine, and continues through Zurich's wine country to Winterthur. Between Winterthur and Zurich, the A4 runs together with the developed A1 Autobahn (motorway). From Zurich the branching east from the A4 and the A1 via the so-called Nordring the motorway interchange Limmattal, the motorway runs from where the A4 and A3, since 4 May 2009, joined to the Western Bypass of Zurich; until May 2009 this section ended for the motorway junction Birmensdorf. In November 2009 the opening of the A4 in Knonaueramt between the branches of Zurich West is planned, at Blegi Cham. From Blegi, the A4 goes on to Schwyz and ends as an Autostrasse road at Brunnen.

The continuation of the N4 national road that leads from Brunnen to Altdorf in the canton of Uri, has the status of a third-class national highway, with the physical role of a main road. The tunnel opened in 2005, is again shown as Flüelen Bypass Highway; yet the connection to the A2, however, remained as a non-main road intersection.

On 20 October 2006, the Swiss Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC) started a project to strengthen the implementation of the two-lane national highway between Flurlingen and Andelfingen, officially approved as a four-lane mini-freeway. The expansion will cost about 140 million Swiss francs. Thus the large volume of traffic is taken into account.