Ontario Highway 17B

Highway 17B was formerly the highway designation for five business routes of Highway 17, the main route of the Trans-Canada Highway through the Canadian province of Ontario. Each was the original route of Highway 17 through the town or city that it served, and was subsequently given the 17B designation when a newer bypass route was constructed to reduce traffic pressure on the urban street network.

All five of the original 17B routes have been decommissioned by the Ministry of Transportation, and are now maintained only by their local municipalities. However, in some cases the "Highway 17B" name may still be informally used by local residents to refer to the routes, and old highway shields may still be visible along the route in some locations.

One additional highway route was given the Highway 17B designation in 2009, following a jurisdictional dispute between the Ministry of Transportation and the Garden River First Nation.

Ottawa

The 17B route in Ottawa extended from the Queensway along Richmond Road to Carling Avenue, thence easterly to Bronson Avenue. It then headed north along Bronson to the one-way pair of Chamberlain Avenue eastbound and Catherine Street westbound between Bronson and another pair of one-way streets, Kent Street northbound and O'Connor Street southbound. It travelled along those streets between Catherine/Chamberlain and Wellington Street, and thence easterly, passing Parliament Hill. The route then continued easterly along Rideau Street and Montreal Road, rejoining the Queensway at Beacon Hill North.

North Bay

The 17B route in North Bay travelled along Main Street from the western city limits to Algonquin Avenue, where it split into two one-way routes, McIntyre Street for westbound traffic and Oak Street for eastbound traffic. The 17B designation travelled along McIntyre and Oak between Algonquin Avenue and Fisher Street, and Fisher Street constituted the remainder of the easterly route, rejoining Highway 17 at the Northgate Square shopping mall.

McIntyre and Oak Streets, as well as the small portions of Fisher Street and Algonquin Avenue which connected the two one-way streets, were also designated as part of Highway 11B.

Sault Ste. Marie

Highway 17B in Sault Ste. Marie travelled southerly along Great Northern Road from Second Line to McNabb Street, thence along Pim Street to Wellington Street.

From there it followed a loop of one-way streets through downtown Sault Ste. Marie, travelling westbound along Wellington to Cathcart Street, then west along Cathcart to Huron Street. Along Huron Street, the route met the Canadian terminus of the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge before turning eastbound along Queen Street to Andrew Street, southbound along Andrew to Bay Street, easterly to Pim Street, northerly back to Queen, easterly along Queen to Church Street, and then northerly along Church back to the intersection of Pim and Wellington.

From that point, it travelled easterly along Wellington Street and Trunk Road and rejoined Highway 17 at Black Road.

Although the route is no longer officially part of the provincial highway system, some signage remains identifying the route as 17B.

Thessalon

The Highway 17B route through Thessalon was a short loop which travelled along Lakeside Drive, Frances Street, Huron Street and River Street. At the eastern terminus of Highway 17B, River Street continued northward as Highway 129.

Thunder Bay

Highway 17B through Thunder Bay extended eastward from Highway 17 along Arthur Street to the corner of May Street at the shore of the Kaministiquia River. It turned north along May Street, and continued along Memorial Avenue and Algoma Street to the corner of Bay Street, then turned east along Bay Street to Water Street along the shore of Thunder Bay. It then travelled northeasterly along Water Street to Cumberland Street, continuing northeasterly to Hodder Avenue in the east end of the city, thence northerly along Hodder until rejoining Highway 17 at Trowbridge Falls Park.

The entire route through Thunder Bay was cosigned as 17B and 11B.

Garden River

Unofficial Highway 17B sign placed by the Garden River first nations

In 2007, the province of Ontario redesignated a former portion of Highway 17 in the Algoma District, from Echo Bay to Sault Ste. Marie, after the opening of a new expressway alignment in the area. Although the official provincial designation was Highway 638, the Garden River First Nation — through which the route passes — has insisted on the designation of Highway 17B instead, even going so far as to post their own non-official Highway 17B signs on the route.

As of February 2009, at the eastern terminus with Highway 17, the highway has been officially rebadged as Highway 17B. The signage is in evidence until the intersection of Highway 638 at Echo Bay, after which the route no longer has any official identification. The western terminus of 17B at Highway 17 features no 17B signage whatsoever. The intersection is identified from 17 simply as Bar River Road.

In February 2010, Garden River's band council publicly warned that they would consider imposing tolls on the routes of both Highway 17 and Highway 17B through their territory if the provincial government did not assist the council with a funding shortfall of approximately $1 million.^[1]

References

1. ^ "Province mum on legality of toll on Hwy. 17E". Sault Star, February 5, 2010.