Ontario Highway 417

King's Highway 417, also known as Highway 417 and the Queensway through Ottawa, is a 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. It connects Montreal (via A40) with Ottawa, and is the backbone of the transportation system in the Ottawa region, where it forms part of the Queensway (along with Ottawa Road 174 from the Trim Road exit to Highway 7). It extends from the Quebec border (near Hawkesbury) to Arnprior, where it continues westward as Highway 17. The eastern section from the Quebec border to the east side of Ottawa opened in the 1970s. Sections west of Ottawa have been under construction since the mid-1990s, in three phases, with the latest section to Arnprior opening in 2005. As of 2012, the Arnprior Bypass is being twinned as far west as Campbell Drive and is scheduled for completion by the end of the year.

Route description

Highway 417 is a 181.4 km (112.7 mi) controlled-access highway that traverses the lower Ottawa Valley and upper St. Lawrence Valley, bypassing the generally two-lane Highway 17 and providing a high-speed connection between Montreal and Ottawa via A-40. The freeway has also gradually been extended northwest from Ottawa alongside the old highway to its current terminus in Arnprior.^[3]

While a significant portion of highway 417 is a rural four lane freeway divided by a grass median, the section within urban Ottawa is a busy commuter route as wide as eight lanes. The portion of the route from the Highway 7 interchange west to "the split" – a large four-way interchange between Highway 417, Ottawa Regional Road 174 and the Aviation Parkway – is known formally as the Queensway, although no indication of this name appears on any signage.^[4]

Queensway

The Queensway extends from Kanata in the west and passes just south of downtown through central Ottawa to Orleans in the east. It has two major interchanges, one in the west with the recently built Highway 416 Veterans Memorial Highway connecting to Highway 401; and in the east, where the 417 to Montreal diverges to the south-east and the eastern section of the Queensway continues as Regional Road 174. In the core section, it is eight lanes wide (4 lanes per direction), while it is usually four lanes wide in the portion outside of the old City of Ottawa boundaries.

It is elevated on a berm along some central portions of its route providing views of downtown and the Gatineau Hills to the north. This central section was constructed along a former Canadian National Railway railbed. Its route bisects central Ottawa, "inside" to the north including downtown and the Parliament Buildings; to the south, residential neighbourhoods including the Glebe.

Between Eagleson/March Road and Moodie Drive in the west and between Blair Road and Place d'Orléans Drive in the east, a bus-only shoulder is used by OCTranspo's Transitway rapid-transit network.

• Highest Volume: 171,700 AADT from Rochester Street (Exit 122) to Parkdale Avenue (Exit 121B)^[5]
• Lowest Volume: 12,500 AADT from Barb Road (Exit 17) to Highway 17 (Exit 9)^[5]

History

Highway 417 was initially constructed as a connection between the existing Queensway and Autoroute 40 in Quebec,^[6] the latter being constructed in advance of Expo 1967 and opening December 17, 1966.^[7][8] However, the designation has since been applied to the Queensway west of the interchange between the two freeways.^[3]

Construction of the Queensway was driven by the Greber Plan, which was produced by Jacques Gréber under the direction of Prime Minister William Mackenzie in the late 1940s. Although Gréber had been corresponding with King as early as 1936, World War II halted any plans from reaching fruition at that time. Immediately following the war, Gréber was again contacted and his expertise requested. He arrived on October 2, 1945 and began working almost immediately.^[9] The Greber Plan, as it came to be known, was printed in 1950 and presented to the House of Commons on May 22, 1951.^[10] The plan called for the complete reorganization of Ottawa's road and rail network, and included amongst the numerous parkways was a east to west expressway along what was then a Canadian National Railway line.^[11][12]

With the rail lines removed, construction of the new expressway got underway in 1957 when Queen Elizabeth visited Ottawa to open the first session of the 23rd Parliament. On October 15, the Queen detonated dynomite charges from the Hurdman Bridge, which now overlooks the highway as it crosses the Rideau River, and formally dedicated the new project as the Queensway. At the ceremony, premier Leslie Frost indicated that the entire project would cost C$31 million and exclaimed the importance of the link to the Trans-Canada Highway.^[13][14]

The Queensway was constructed in four phases, each opening independently: phase one, from Alta Vista Drive (now Riverside Drive) east to Highway 17 (Montreal Road); phase two, from Highway 7 and Highway 15 (Richmond Road) to Carling Avenue; phase three, from Carling Avenue to O'Connor Street; and, phase four, from O'Connor Street to Alta Vista Drive, crossing the Rideau Canal and Rideau River.^[15] Phase one opened to traffic on November 25, 1960, extending up to the Rideau River.^[1] On the opposite side of Ottawa, phase two opened a year later in October, 1961. The central section presented the greatest challenge, as an embankment was built to create grade-separations. In addition, the structures over the Rideau Canal and river required several years of construction. The majority of the third phase was opened ceremoniously May 15, 1964,^[16] completing the Carling Avenue interchange and extending the freeway as far as Bronson Avenue.^[17] Several months later, on September 17 the short but complicated section east to O'Connor Street was opened.^[16] This left only phase four, the central section of the Queensway, which was opened in three segments. On November 26, 1965, the structures over the Rideau Canal were opened to traffic, extending the westbound lanes to Concord Street, west of the Nicholas Street interchange.^[18] The interchange opened on January 1, 1966, allowing travel in both directions over the canal.^[19] The final segment, linking the two section of the Queensway, was placed into service on October 28, 1966.^[20] Following this, the Highway 17 designation was applied along the Queensway and the old routing renumbered as Highway 17B.^[21]

East of Ottawa, planning was underway on a new freeway, Highway 417, that would connect the Queensway to A-40 to provide a high-speed route to Montreal. Highway 17, closely following the shore of the Ottawa River as it meanders towards Pointe-Fortune, was dangerous, narrow, and accident prone, earning it the nickname of "the killer strip".^[22] The awarding of the 1976 Summer Olympics to Montreal on May 12, 1970^[23] resulted in a sped-up construction schedule due to the anticipated high volume of traffic that would be travelling the corridor between Ottawa and Montreal during the games. Contracts to construct the new route were opened to bidding on November 15, 1968; construction began in May 1969 starting at Base Line Road (now Ramsayville Road) and proceeding easterly.^[24][25]

The new freeway was built under a continuous construction program over the next 6 years, opening progressively as each segment of roadway was completed. The first 10.2 km (6.3 mi) segment, from Ramsayville Road to Boundary Road, opened in 1971.^[1] By 1973, the easternmost 9 km (5.6 mi) of Highway 17 was been converted into a divided freeway and construction was progressing on the entire route.^[26] The final segment of the new route, connecting the segment east of Ramsayville with the Queensway, was opened to traffic on December 2, 1975. The cost of the entire eastern segment was $77 million ($297 million in 2012 dollars)^[27].^[28]

Future

The MTO plans to further extend the 417 westerly through the Ottawa Valley by twinning and realigning the existing Highway 17 to a four-lane freeway past Arnprior, where Highway 417 currently ends. No immediate construction timelines have been announced, but route planning by MTO has been completed to Pembroke. In August 2006, construction began on a connection at Exit 145 with an announced four-lane expansion of Highway 7 to Carleton Place from the west side of Ottawa.

The 417 currently has 42 interchanges from the Quebec border to Arnprior, with more planned as the highway is extended westward. Unlike other highways in Ontario and most of North America, exits are numbered from east to west. After much planning on other segments of Highway 17 in Sudbury, and North Bay it has raised speculation on expansion.

Exit list

The following table lists the major junctions along Highway 417, as noted by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario.^[2] Unlike other highways in Ontario, Highway 417 is measured from east to west,^[2] and as such this table is presented in that order.

References

External links

• OpenStreetMap: Highway 417 route
• MTO Compass Highway 417 Ottawa cameras
• Video of Highway 417 westbound in Ottawa