Highway 17 (Ontario)

Infobox road
province=ON
type=Hwy
route=17
alternate_name=Trans-Canada Highway


length_km=1960
length_round=0
length_ref=Fact|date=August 2007
established=1920
direction_a=West
direction_b=East
terminus_a=
junction=jct|state=ON|Hwy|71 in Kenora
jct|state=ON|Hwy|11 in Shabaqua
jct|state=ON|Hwy|61 in Thunder Bay
jct|state=ON|Hwy|11 in Lake Helen
jct|state=ON|Hwy|101 in Wawa
jct|state=ON|to1=To|I|75 in Sault Ste. Marie
jct|state=ON|Hwy|129 in Thessalon
jct|state=ON|Hwy|108 in Serpent River
jct|state=ON|Hwy|6 in McKerrow
jct|state=ON|Hwy|144 in Sudbury
jct|state=ON|Hwy|69 in Sudbury
jct|state=ON|Hwy|11 near North Bay
terminus_b=jct|state=ON|Hwy|417 near Arnprior
cities=Kenora, Dryden, Ignace, Thunder Bay, Wawa, S. Ste. Marie, Blind River, Sudbury, North Bay, Mattawa, Petawawa, Pembroke, Arnprior
previous_type=Hwy
previous_route=16
next_type=Hwy
next_route=19

Highway 17 is the primary route of the Trans-Canada Highway through Ontario, Canada. It begins at the western limit of Highway 417 near Arnprior, and continues west to the Manitoba border.

It is Ontario's longest provincial highway, with a length of about 1,960 km (1,220 miles).

The highway once extended even further, to the Quebec border in East Hawkesbury for a peak length of about 2,140 km (1,330 miles). However, a section of Highway 17 "disappeared" when the Ottawa section of it was upgraded to the freeway Highway 417 in 1971. Highway 17 was not re-routed through Ottawa, nor did it share numbering with Highway 417 to rectify the discontinuity, even though Highway 417 formed a direct link between the western and eastern sections of Highway 17. However, from East Hawkesbury to Ottawa, Highway 17 retained the Trans-Canada Highway routing and signs until it met up again and merged with Highway 417.

History

In 1930, Highway 17's extent was between the Ontario-Quebec border and Pembroke. However, there was a connecting roadway west of Pembroke through North Bay, Sudbury and reaching Sault Ste. Marie at that time, although this was not part of the King's Highway system. [Road Map of Ontario, 1930-31, Ontario Department of Public Highways]

The last gravel stretch of Hwy 17 was located west of Ignace and was paved in 1967.

In 1997 the provincial government transferred the ownership of a large number of regional roads to municipalities (also known as "provincial downloading"). Since then all portions east of Arnprior have been turned back with the construction of Highway 417 westward to Arnprior. What was Highway 17 east of the intersection 113 (known locally as "the Split") in Ottawa is now designated Regional Road 174 and lost its Trans-Canada Highway designation to Highway 417.

As construction of Highway 417 continues westward, it will absorb Highway 17, shortening its length.

Freeway and expressway segments

The first freeway portion of Highway 17 was the Queensway in Ottawa, built as a cross-town superhighway. This eventually connected to Highway 417 which was built east of Ottawa to the Quebec border as an original designation and alignment.The highway has an existing freeway segment in Greater Sudbury, extending for 21 kilometres between the communities of Whitefish and Lively. This segment bypassed the former route now known as Municipal Road 55, which itself is an expressway albeit with shorter length and at-grade intersections.

A segment from Sault Ste. Marie to Desbarats is divided expressway with grade-level intersections rather than interchanges, and many points of private access. From Desbarats to Echo Bay, the expressway was constructed in the 1980s by twinning the existing roadway — the remainder of the route into Sault Ste. Marie is a new bypass route constructed in the 2000s and opened to traffic on October 31, 2007.cite web|url=http://www.tc.gc.ca/ship/proj/ont/ont-prj-highway-echorivertobarriver.htm|title=Highway 17 / Echo River to Bar River Rd.|publisher=Transport Canada|accessdate=2007-04-11] The former alignment of Highway 17 through this area is currently the subject of dispute as to its redesignation, with the province of Ontario wanting to designate it as a continuation of Highway 638, and the Garden River First Nation, through which the route travels, insisting on the business route designation 17B.

The urban alignments of Highway 17 through Thunder Bay and North Bay are also four-lane expressways with reduced, although not fully controlled, access. These two routes directly intersect only with major city thoroughfares, with minor streets ending at a network of service roads next to the highway.

However, as these four-lane segments are not currently connected to other portions of Ontario's freeway network, they will remain designated as Highway 17 for the foreseeable future.

Future construction

Limited discussion has taken place regarding the potential freeway conversion of Highway 17's entire route from Sault Ste. Marie to Arnprior, but to date no formal project planning or scheduling has been undertaken for the most part. As well, Sault Ste. Marie MPP David Orazietti has spearheaded a petition to have the highway four-laned [ [http://www.4lane17.com/ 4 Lane 17] .] , similar to the campaign previously undertaken by his caucus colleague Rick Bartolucci pertaining to the extension of Highway 400.

However, several current projects are underway at specific locations along the highway.

Renfrew County

Studies are also underway on the extension of Highway 417 through the Ottawa Valley region from its current terminus at Arnprior to Petawawa. From Arnprior to Haley Station and from Meath to Petawawa, the proposed freeway route largely follows the existing alignment — in these areas, the current highway route largely avoids existing communities, and thus a second set of lanes can be easily added alongside the existing route. Within the township of Whitewater Region, however, a new alignment is planned several kilometres east of the existing road in order to bypass communities such as Cobden.

udbury

The provincial government has announced that in the 2010s, near the completion date of the Highway 400 extension, the existing Highway 17 freeway segment in Greater Sudbury will be extended eastward to Coniston along the Southwest and Southeast Bypasses. Early planning studies have already taken place [http://www.sudburyswbypass.ca/FAQ's.htm, accessed April 8, 2007] , and construction began in 2007 on an interchange at Highway 17 and Long Lake Road in the south end of the city.

Environmental studies have also been completed on the freeway's westerly extension to McKerrow, near Espanola, but no construction schedule has been announced to date.

ault Ste. Marie

At Sault Ste. Marie, the expressway segment currently ends six kilometres short of its eventual terminus at Black Road and Second Line, as an agreement has yet to be reached with the Batchawana First Nation regarding land use through Rankin.

Completion of the segment is not currently expected until at least 2015. In the interim, highway traffic travels between the expressway and the current highway alignment through Sault Ste. Marie by means of the previously-planned northerly extension of Trunk Road. [ [http://maps.google.ca/maps?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&hl=en&tab=wl Google Maps] ] The former segment of Highway 17 through Garden River has officially been redesignated as part of Highway 638, although the Garden River First Nation is disputing this designation and has insisted that the highway be renamed Highway 17B.

Thunder Bay to Kenora

Construction started in 2004 on a westerly extension of Thunder Bay's Harbour Expressway, from the Thunder Bay Expressway to Vibert Road, intended to serve as a new alignment for Highways 11 and 17. [ [http://www.mndm.gov.on.ca/MNDM/pub/newrel/NRView.asp?NRNUM=265&NRYear=2003&NRLAN=EN&NRID=3127 "McGuinty Government Secures Partnership To Improve Northern Highways"] , MNDM, November 21, 2003.]

In July, 2008 the federal and provincial governments announced a $6.2 billion infrastructure program that makes the four-laning of Hwys. 11 and 17 near Kenora and Thunder Bay a priority. Engineering work on twinning 11/17 between Nipigon and Thunder Bay is to begin in 2008. [ [http://www.chroniclejournal.com/stories_local.php?id=124467] ]

Communities

Communities that Highway 17 travels through or near, listed from east to west:

*Arnprior
*Renfrew
*Cobden
*Pembroke
*Petawawa
*Chalk River
*Deep River
*Rolphton
*Mattawa
*North Bay
*Sturgeon Falls
*Cache Bay
*Verner
*Markstay-Warren
*Greater Sudbury
*Espanola
*Webbwood
*Massey
*Blind River
*Thessalon
*Sault Ste. Marie
*Wawa
*White River
*Marathon
*Terrace Bay
*Schreiber
*Nipigon
*Red Rock
*Thunder Bay
*Ignace
*Dryden
*Kenora

Business routes

Highway 17 used to have a number of business routes, but all of them have been deleted. All were at one time the primary route of Highway 17 through their respective locations, and were given the business route designation following the construction or designation of a newer bypass alignment.

*Highway 17B (Ottawa)
*Highway 17B (North Bay)
*Highway 17B (Thessalon)
*Highway 17B (Sault Ste. Marie)
*Highway 17B (Thunder Bay)

References

External links

* [http://www.onthighways.com/highway_17.htm Ontario Hwy 17 Photos] , by Scott Steeves
* [http://www.embargo.ca/highway11/ThunderBay/index.htm Highway 17 from Cavers to White River - The Ontario Highway 11 Homepage]
* [http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=&saddr=Hwy-17,+ON+%26+Hwy-1,+MB-&daddr=49.744006,-94.453583+to:HWY-11%2FHWY-17%2FTrans+Canada+Hwy+%4048.380850,+-89.415870+to:45.419480,+-76.339800&mrcr=0,1&mrsp=1&sz=10&mra=dpe&sll=49.703168,-94.43573&sspn=0.367704,0.850067&ie=UTF8&ll=46.890232,-86.572266&spn=12.436551,27.202148&t=h&z=5&om=1 Google Maps: Highway 17 route]