The current PTH 4 first appeared on the 1989-90 Manitoba Highway Map. The current route has no relation to the previous PTH 4, which was a major transportation route in the province. Originally, PTH 4 started its course in Portage la Prairie at a junction with PTH 1. From Portage la Prairie, the road traveled north following the current Provincial Road 240 to Mile 71N. The highway would then turn west and rejoin its current configuration just south of Macdonald. The junction was moved to its current location eight miles west of Portage la Prairie in 1950, where PTH 4 would make a right turn on what is now PTH 16, the Yellowhead Highway. At the Saskatchewan border, PTH 4 became Highway 14. The original section between Portage la Prairie and Macdonald was designated as PTH 4A between 1953 and 1965. PTH 4 became a trans-provincial highway in 1958 when PTH 1 was reconfigured to its current route in order to become part of the Trans-Canada Highway system four years later. Former sections of PTH 1 were redesignated as PTH 4. At this point, PTH 4 began near the Ontario border, passing through Whitemouth and Beausejour to Lockport. From Lockport, the highway traveled south, entering Winnipeg as Main St and sharing the highway's course with Route 52. At Portage Ave the highway turned right, sharing the highway's course with Route 85. PTH 1 merged on to Portage Ave from Broadway and the two highways continued along the same course out of Winnipeg. Eight miles west of the Winnipeg city limits, PTH 4 branched off to the right through St. Francois Xavier and Poplar Point. It would then rejoin PTH 1 just east of Portage la Prairie. The two highways would once again share the road through Portage la Prairie to the previous eastern terminus. In 1968, PTH 4's eastern terminus was returned to its previous location with the Trans-Canada Highway eight miles west of Portage la Prairie. The segments of the former trans-provincial PTH 4 east of this junction were redesignated as follows:
PTH 44 between the Ontario border and Lockport
PTH 9 between Lockport and Winnipeg
PTH 26 between St. Francois Xavier and Portage la Prairie
The original section of PTH 4, which became part of the Yellowhead Highway system in 1970, was renumbered PTH 16 in 1977 to allow the route to retain the number 16 designation across all provinces in Western Canada. In 1988, PTH 4 was revived as a connector route to PTH 59 to serve the needs of those travelling to and from Grand Beach and Selkirk. The speed limit on the route is.
Major intersections
A list of major intersections on PTH 4's current course:
