Ontario Highway 417
Highway 417 is the backbone of the transportation system in the Ottawa region and the Ottawa Valley area from the Quebec border (near Hawkesbury, where it continues as Autoroute 40) to Arnprior, where it continues as Highway 17. The first sections were through Ottawa in 1971, where it is also named the Queensway (from the Ottawa Road 174 interchange to at least Highway 7). Highway 417 is often quite congested through Ottawa, but there is no realistic expansion possible and a beltway plan has been only slightly discussed.
The MTO plans to further extend the 417 westerly through the Ottawa Valley and into Northern Ontario by twinning and realigning the existing Highway 17 to a four-lane freeway, although no immediate timelines are planned except for the Arnprior-Pembroke section (which should see construction by the end of this decade, at least in part).
In the western part of the City of Greater Sudbury there is a freeway section of Highway 17 completed that could be incorporated into a future Highway 417, as well as a section under construction (opening around 2008) from Sault Ste. Marie east for about 27 km to Echo Bay. A further section of Highway 17, from Echo Bay to Desbarats, already exists as a four-lane expressway with grade level intersections.
The 417 currently has 42 interchanges from the Quebec border to Arnprior, with more planned as the highway is extended westward (shown below). Unlike other highways in Ontario, Exit 1 is on the eastern end of the highway and they increase westward.
Interchanges from East to West
| Municipality | Exit Number | Intersecting Roads |
|---|---|---|
| East Hawkesbury/Pointe-Fortune (interchange on the border) | 1 | Prescott and Russell County Road 14 (North) |
| East Hawkesbury | 5 | Prescott and Russell County Roads 4 and 14 |
| East Hawkesbury | 9 | Highway 17 (Prescott and Russell County Road 17) |
| East Hawkesbury | 17 | Barb Road (Prescott and Russell County Roads 10 and 12) |
| North Glengarry | 27 | Highway 34 |
| North Glengarry | 35 | Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry County Road 23 |
| North Glengarry | 51 | Highland Road (Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry County Roads 9 and 20) |
| The Nation - North Stormont Boundary | 58 | Highway 138 / Prescott and Russell County Road 8 |
| The Nation (Casselman) | 66 | Principale Street (Prescott and Russell County Road 7) |
| The Nation - Russell Boundary | 79 | Limoges Road (Prescott and Russell County Road 5) |
| Russell - Ottawa Boundary | 88 | Prescott and Russell County Road 17 / Rockdale Road (Ottawa Road 33) |
| Ottawa | 96 | Boundary Road (Ottawa Road 41) |
| Ottawa | 104 | Anderson Road (Ottawa Road 27) |
| Ottawa | 110 | Walkley Road (Ottawa Roads 43 and 74) |
| Ottawa | 112 | Innes Road (Ottawa Road 30) |
| Ottawa | 113 | Aviation Parkway / Ottawa Road 174 (former Highway 17) |
| Ottawa | 115 | St. Laurent Boulevard |
| Ottawa | 117 | Vanier Parkway / Riverside Drive |
| Ottawa | 118 | Nicholas Street / Mann Avenue (westbound) / Lees Avenue (eastbound) |
| Ottawa | 119 | Metcalfe Street |
| Ottawa | 121A | Bronson Avenue |
| Ottawa | 121B | Rochester Street (eastbound only) |
| Ottawa | 122 | Parkdale Avenue |
| Ottawa | 123 | Island Park Drive (westbound only) |
| Ottawa | 124 | Carling Avenue / Kirkwood Avenue |
| Ottawa | 126 | Maitland Avenue |
| Ottawa | 127 | Woodroffe Avenue |
| Ottawa | 129 | Pinecrest Road / Greenbank Road |
| Ottawa | 130 | Richmond Road / Bayshore Drive (westbound) / Acres Road (eastbound) |
| Ottawa | 131 | Highway 416 |
| Ottawa | 134 | Moodie Drive (Ottawa Road 59) |
| Ottawa | 138 | Eagleson Road / March Road (Ottawa Road 49) |
| Ottawa | 139 | Kanata Avenue / Castlefrank Road (westbound only) |
| Ottawa | 140 | Terry Fox Drive (Ottawa Road 61) |
| Ottawa | 142 | Palladium Drive (Ottawa Road 88) |
| Ottawa | 144 | Carp Road (Ottawa Road 5) |
| Ottawa | 145 | Highway 7 |
| Ottawa | 155 | March Road (Ottawa Road 49) |
| Ottawa | 163 | Panmure Road |
| Ottawa | 169 | Kinburn Side Road (Ottawa Road 20) |
| Ottawa - Arnprior Boundary | 180 | Ottawa Road 29 / Renfrew County Road 29 |
Proposed Interchanges from East to West (exit numbers assumed)
| Municipality | Exit Number | Intersecting Roads |
|---|---|---|
| Arnprior | 183 | White Lake Road (Renfrew County Road 2) |
| McNab/Braeside | 186 | Campbell Drive |
| McNab/Braeside | 195 | McLean Drive (Renfrew County Road 54) / Calabogie Road (Renfrew County Road 508) |
| Horton | 205 | Lochwinnoch Road (Renfrew County Road 6) |
| Horton - Renfrew Boundary | 207 | Highway 60 / O'Brien Road |
| Horton | 209 | Bruce Street / Castleford Road (Renfrew County Road 20) |
See also 400-Series Highway.