Ontario Highway 417

Autoroute 40 becomes Highway 417 at the Ontario border; both form the mainline of the Trans-Canada Highway.

Highway 417 begins at the border between the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, east of which the four lane freeway continues as Autoroute 40. The route proceeds west, south of the former alignment of Highway 17, which it has served to replace. It passes through a forested and agricultural landscape en route to Ottawa, serving the communities of Hawkesbury, Vankleek Hill, Casselman, Limoges and Vars. After approximately 9 km (5.6 mi) the route curves southwest while ramps provide access from the westbound lanes to Prescott and Russell County Road 17 and from County Road 17 to the eastbound lanes of Highway 417. County Road 17 was formerly part of Highway 17 until it was decommissioned as a provincial highway in 1998. The route later meets the southern terminus of Highway 34 at Exit 27. Continuing southwest, the route meanders along the boundary between The Nation and North Glengarry, eventually encountering the northern terminus of Highway  138 — a highway built to connect Highway 417 with Highway 401 and Cornwall[5] — east of Casselman. At this point, the freeway enters The Nation and diverges from the boundary.[3]

After crossing a Via Rail line, the route dips south of Casselman and curves to the west at Exit 66 (County Road 7). It roughly parallels the Via Rail line several kilometres north of the freeway, though significant deviations bypass the communities of Benoit and Limoges; the latter is served by Exit 79 (County Road 5).[3] Near Limoges is the Larose Forest, a man-made forest planted between 1928 and 1980 over the Bourget Desert, itself created as the result of clear cutting in the 19th century.[6] At Exit 88, Highway 417 enters the city of Ottawa,[3] though the surroundings remain unchanged until Exit 110 (Walkley Road), near Ramsayville.[7]

North of Ramsayville, the route jogs abruptly to the west as it crosses Greens Creek and enters the suburbs of Ottawa; an interchange with Innes Road divides the countryside to the south and east from the city to the north and west.[8] The freeway merges with Ottawa Regional Road 174 (also known as the Queensway) at a large two-level interchange known locally as the Split, curving to the west and into downtown Ottawa. This reunites Highway 417 with the former Highway 17, that portion which was renamed as Regional Road 174. The interchange also provides access to Aviation Parkway from westbound Highway 417 and from the parkway to eastbound Highway 417. West of this junction, Highway 417 assumes the route name of the Queensway.[7]

Highway 417 facing east at the Split with Ottawa Regional Road 174

Within Ottawa, the Queensway extends from Orleans in the east and passes just south of downtown through central Ottawa to Kanata in the west. Two major interchanges anchor either end of this section: in the east, Highway 417 diverges south towards Montreal at the Split, while the Queensway continues east as Ottawa Regional Road 174 and Aviation Parkway branches north; in the west, Highway 416 travels south to Highway 401. The core section of the Queensway is eight lanes wide, four per carriageway.[9]

The freeway is elevated on a berm along some central portions of the route, providing views of downtown and the Gatineau Hills to the north. This section was constructed along a former Canadian National Railway railbed.[10] The route bisects central Ottawa with downtown and the Parliament Buildings to the north of the highway and residential neighbourhoods including the Glebe to the south. Towards the Richmond Road interchange, the original western terminus of the Queensway, both sides of the freeway are lined by residential subdivisions.[9]

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.[11] Several closely spaced exits serve the downtown core of Ottawa, including Nicholas Street, Bronson Avenue and Metcalfe Street;[3] the former was once designated as various provincial highways, most recently Highway 31.[12]

Highway 417 eastbound in Kanata approaching the interchange with Moodie Drive, showing the HOV lane in the eastbound carriageway

West of the interchange with Highway 416, the freeway enters the suburb of Kanata[13] and travels through it in an east–west direction.[14] At Exit 145, the route encounters the eastern terminus of Highway 7, which travels southwest to Peterborough and Greater Toronto and provides an alternative route to Highway 401. Highway 417 makes a broad 90-degree curve to the north to meet with the midpoint of the Carp Bypass at the former Highway 44 (now Ottawa Regional Road 49), at which point the highway returns to a rural setting.[3]

The Carp Bypass was built in the mid-1960s as a bypass of the existing Highway 17, which meandered through the communities of Carp, Kinburn and Antrim; the former highway is now Donald B. Munro Drive, and lies to the east of Highway 417.[3] The bypass was built as a two lane road with full control of access, avoiding existing properties and easily facilitating the upgrade to a freeway. North of Antrim, Highway 417 travels in a straight line parallel to old Highway 17 as far as Arnprior,[3] where it curves to cross the Madawaska River. The divided freeway ends west of Campbell Drive, northwest of the town.[15]

The Queensway facing west from Alta Vista Drive (now Riverside Drive/Vanier Parkway) in 1961

Highway 417 was initially constructed as a connection between the existing Queensway and Autoroute 40 in Quebec,[16] the latter being constructed in advance of Expo 1967 and opening December 17, 1966.[17][18] 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 Mackenzie King 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. Following the war, Gréber was again contacted and his expertise requested. He arrived on October 2, 1945 and began working almost immediately.[19] The Greber Plan, as it came to be known, was released 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 an east to west expressway along what was then a Canadian National Railway line.[20][21]

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 dynamite 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 emphasized the importance of the link to the Trans-Canada Highway.[22][23]

The Queensway in 1961 over Carling Avenue, following the completion of phase two

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.[24] Phase one opened to traffic on November 25, 1960, extending up to the Rideau River.[2] On the western 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. On May 15, 1964, the majority of the third phase was ceremonially opened,[25] completing the Carling Avenue interchange and extending the freeway as far as Bronson Avenue.[26] Several months later, on September 17 the short but complicated section east to O'Connor Street was opened.[25] 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. At the same time, the westbound lanes of the Queensway were extended to Concord Street, located west of the Nicholas Street interchange.[27] The interchange opened on January 1, 1966, allowing travel in both directions over the canal.[28] The final segment, linking the two section of the Queensway, was placed into service on October 28, 1966.[29] Following this, the Highway 17 designation was applied along the Queensway and the old routing renumbered as Highway 17B.[30]

Planning was underway on a new freeway, Highway 417, that would run east of Ottawa from the Queensway, connecting with 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".[31] The awarding of the 1976 Summer Olympics to Montreal on May 12, 1970[32] resulted in an accelerated 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.[33][34]

The new freeway was built under a continuous construction program over the following 6 years, opening progressively as each segment of roadway was completed. The first 16 km (9.9 mi) segment, from Ramsayville Road to Rockdale Road, near Vars, opened on September 21, 1972. By the end of that month, the easternmost 9 km (5.6 mi) of Highway 17 had been converted into a divided freeway,[35] and construction was progressing on the remainder of the route.[36] On October 1, 1973, a 14 km (8.7 mi) section of freeway opened between Vars and Limoges.[37] On July 15, 1974, Minister of Transportation and Communications John Rhodes ceremonially opened the next section of Highway 417, between Limoges Road and Highland Road.[38] The section between Highland Road and Highway 17 opened on November 8, 1974, connecting with the existing section leading from the Quebec boundary.[39] The final segment of the new route, connecting the section east of Ramsayville with the Queensway, was opened to traffic on December 2, 1975. The cost of the entire eastern segment was $77 million ($351 million in 2021 dollars).[40][41] The Trans-Canada Highway designation was not applied to this section of Highway 417 until Highway 17 was decommissioned as a provincial route in 1998.[42][43]

Meanwhile, to the west of Ottawa, planning got underway on a continuation of the Queensway.[44] This extension was designed to connect with the Carp Bypass – a portion of Highway 17 designed to bypass the old meandering route (now known as Donald B. Munro Drive) through Carp, Marathon and Antrim that opened November 9, 1965[45] – with an interchange and connection to Highway 7. Prior to the completion of this section of freeway, Highway 17 followed Carling Avenue and March Road from Ottawa to west of Carp. Construction began in the west end of Ottawa in 1967. On October 31, 1969, a short extension to Moodie Drive was completed, including the realignment of that road for continuity north and south of Highway 417.[28][46][47] The following year, the freeway was extended to March Road.[48] Construction halted at the eastern edge of Kanata for several years while a study was conducted into the merits of building the highway in a trench through the established city. During this time, construction began in 1974 on the future Queensway and Highway 7 interchange. Work also began on the two lane connections to Highway 7 as well as to the Highway 17 and Highway 44 junction west of Carp at the same time.[49]

Map of Highway 417 through Ottawa

Upon the completion of the Ottawa–Quebec section of freeway, the Queensway was designated as Highway 417 west of The Split.[50] With the completion of the Kanata study during early 1976, work began to build the route through the city-centre in a depressed-grade; as a result all the crossings through that section pass over the freeway. By early 1978, the western extension was opened to traffic, providing four lanes between Richmond Road and Highway 7 / 417. The two legs beyond the interchange were initially constructed as two-lane undivided roads, and remained as such for over a decade.[50]

Throughout the 1980s, work on Highway 417 shifted from extensions to expansions. Within Ottawa, the initially four lane route, separated by a wide grass median, was expanded to eight lanes with paved shoulders and centre-mounted lighting beginning in 1982.[51] To reduce weaving, the westbound exit at Kent Street was removed during this work. Expansion of the two lane Highway 17 west of the interchange with Highway 7 got underway in 1991; this section was renumbered as Highway 417 as construction progressed westward. The construction saw a second two lane roadway built parallel to the existing route to create a divided freeway, a process known as twinning.[52]

When the twinning of Highway 17 reached March Road, new contracts were tendered to continue the process northward. Bot Construction was awarded the contract for the section north to Panmure Road on December 9, 1998.[53] On February 16, 2000, the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) officially announced that Highway 417 would be extended to Arnprior over the next several years.[54] A contract to build the freeway from north of Panmure Road to south of Arnprior was tendered in early 2002.[55] This work was completed and the extension opened to traffic on September 24, 2004.[56]

Concurrent with the twinning of Highway 7 between Carleton Place and Ottawa, the interchange with Highway 417 was upgraded to support the divided traffic flows; a new flyover ramp was built connecting westbound Highway 417 with westbound Highway 7. Construction began on August 22, 2006,[57] and was opened in June 2008 along with the Highway 7 expansion.[58]

Construction to twin the Arnprior Bypass portion of Highway 17, which included a new interchange at White Lake Road, began during the spring of 2009.[59] The bypass was originally built in 1981 as one of a number of upgrades to Highway 17 between Ottawa and North Bay. It was intended for directing through traffic around downtown Arnprior and was designed for an eventual upgrade to a divided freeway.[60] The major structure in this project was a second crossing of the Madawaska River.[59] Work was completed in late 2012; the new 5.6 km (3.5 mi) section was opened ceremonially on November 29 and cost $63 million,[15] $7 million less than projected.[61]

Starting in 2003, the Ontario Ministry of Transportation developed plans for an extensive upgrade of Highway 417 between Highway 7 (Exit 145) and Anderson Road (Exit 104). The addition of lanes and off-ramps into residential areas was resisted by several local community groups. The study was completed in January 2007 with recommendations to expand or rebuild sections of the highway. The entire length was recommended to be eight lanes wide, and many interchanges will be rebuilt for safety and capacity reasons. In particular, one interchange at Parkdale Avenue will be rebuilt by buying the houses on the south side of Westmount Avenue and moving the ramp to that location thus eliminating the use of Westmount Avenue as the off ramp. The recommendations were significantly scaled back from the beginning of the study process due to public opposition.[62][63][64]

In August 2007, the Island Park Drive overpass underwent rapid bridge replacement, a novel process in Ontario at the time. The replacement bridge was built nearby in Hampton Park.

In Kanata, Highway 417 was widened from four/six lanes to eight lanes between Highway 416 and Palladium Drive, with the ramp for incoming traffic from Highway 416 being extended as far as Moodie Drive, where it merges to the left side of the westbound carriageway. From Moodie Drive to Palladium Drive the additional leftmost lanes are designated as HOV lanes. Highway 417 was also widened from four to six lanes between Palladium Drive and Highway 7, concurrent with Highway 7 to Carleton Place being upgraded to a freeway including the expansion of its terminus interchange with Highway 417. The work on the westbound lanes was completed in late-October 2014, with the eastbound lanes completed in mid-November 2014. This expansion was intended to relieve congestion, especially when events occur at Canadian Tire Centre.[65]

The segment between Nicholas Street and Ottawa Road 174 was widened with an additional two lanes per direction, construction of which began in 2013 and completed on-time in 2015. The additional pair of lanes were used as bus lanes temporarily, until 2018, at which point they became general traffic lanes.[66] This project involved the replacement of the Nicholas Street and Vanier Parkway overpasses as well as widening the Rideau River bridges.[67][68]