Florida US 17 begins in downtown
Punta Gorda at
US 41 (Cross Street), just to the west of the
Tamiami Trail. After running east, it runs roughly north along the
Peace River, through
Arcadia,
Zolfo Springs (where it crosses the Peace River), and
Wauchula. At
Fort Meade, it joins with
US 98, which follows it northward (westward on US 98) until
Bartow. While US 98 goes northwest, US 17 goes northeast. US 17 begins a long
concurrency with US 92 just north of
Winter Haven in
Lake Alfred (US 92 following eastbound), which takes both highways through
Kissimmee, where they join
US 192. Like US 92, US 17 roughly parallels
I-4 along the overlap. When all three meet
US 441, US 192 follows US 441 southbound, while US 17/US 92 follows US 441 north into downtown
Orlando. US 17/US 92 then splits from US 441 at
State Road 50 (SR 50, Colonial Drive) and jogs east, splitting back north from SR 50 when it meets
SR 15 (Mills Avenue). In
Sanford, US 17/US 92 crosses the
St. Johns River into
Volusia County via the Bill Benedict Bridge. US 92 then splits away from US 17 north of
DeLand, as US 92 continues east to
Daytona Beach on International Speedway Boulevard, while US 17 continues north toward
Palatka, where it again crosses the St. Johns River. In
Clay County, US 17 runs through suburban
Jacksonville. The northern stretch of US 17 in Clay County is known as Park Avenue. In Jacksonville, the southern portion of US 17 is known as Roosevelt Boulevard. Here, the highway goes past
Naval Air Station Jacksonville (NAS Jax). Near downtown Jacksonville, US 17 joins
I-10 for approximately , before merging into
I-95. US 17 then exits onto Union Street and continues as North Main Street until the
Nassau County border. It then continues until it reaches the
Georgia state line, crossing over the
St. Marys River.
Georgia In
Woodbine, US 17 crosses the
Satilla River by way of the
J. Edwin Godley Bridge. In
Brunswick, the route traverses the South
Brunswick River over the
Sidney Lanier Bridge, then across the
Altamaha River bridge between
Glynn and
McIntosh counties. At the
South Carolina state line, US 17 crosses the
Savannah River on the
Talmadge Memorial Bridge.
South Carolina US 17 enters South Carolina in
Jasper County as a two-lane road and within enters
Hardeeville, where it becomes a four-lane configuration. US 17 intersects
I-95 in Hardeeville and runs parallel to I-95 until
Ridgeland, where it merges with the Interstate until
Point South. At Point South, US 17 leaves I-95 and heads eastward into northern
Beaufort County, sharing a concurrency with
US 21 until Gardens Corner. US 21 splits off to
Beaufort while US 17 heads northeast into the
ACE Basin and
Colleton County. This stretch of road has been upgraded from a two-lane to a four-lane configuration, due to safety concerns. Once in
Jacksonboro, the road enters
Charleston County, crossing the
Edisto River and maintains a four-lane configuration for the remainder of the state. The road passes through several rural communities as it approaches Charleston from the west. In
Charleston, the section running from
South Carolina Highway 171 (SC 171) to Sam Rittenberg Boulevard has been named the "Charleston Nine Memorial Highway", in honor of nine Charleston firefighters killed in the line of duty in the
Charleston Sofa Super Store fire on June 18, 2007. US 17 passes through the West Ashley community before it traverses the
Ashley River Drawbridges to the Charleston Peninsula. From the drawbridges, it is known as the Septima Clark Crosstown Connector and is mostly routed north of the affluent historical areas of the city. Upon reaching the
I-26 terminus, US 17 becomes limited-access and above grade as it approaches the
Cooper River via the
Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge. The stretch of US 17 in Charleston is infamous among locals for its traffic congestion, especially on weekday mornings. Upon crossing the river, the highway enters
Mount Pleasant at grade and is signalized for several miles up through the second interchange with
I-526 and connecting roads to the
Isle of Palms and
Sullivan's Island. The road leaves the Charleston metro area and enters the
Francis Marion National Forest and going through the rural communities of
Awendaw and
McClellanville, where
Hurricane Hugo made landfall in September 1989. US 17 continues on its northeastern journey to
Georgetown and crosses the marsh-lined
Santee River as it enters
Georgetown County. US 17's route through Georgetown is a major thoroughfare through the city and skirts the historic district. After going through Georgetown and passing by
DeBordieu Colony,
Pawleys Island,
Litchfield Beach, and
Murrells Inlet, where it splits between a business route and the mainline route, which remains west of the beach and tourist areas served by
US 17 Business. US 17 enters
Horry County, passes
Garden City Beach and
Surfside Beach, and bypasses
Myrtle Beach. The roads rejoin north of the city and continue as US 17 through
Atlantic Beach,
North Myrtle Beach, and
Little River before crossing into North Carolina.
North Carolina In
Wilmington, US 17 (here concurrent with
I-140) crosses the
Northeast Cape Fear River between
New Hanover and
Brunswick counties over the
Dan Cameron Bridge. Between
New Bern and
James City, US 17 (concurrent with
US 70 and
North Carolina Highway 55, or NC 55) crosses the
Trent River by way of the
Freedom Memorial Bridge. Farther east, between James City and
Bridgeton, US 17, still concurrent with NC 55, crosses the
Neuse River over the
Neuse River Bridge. In
Washington, US 17 crosses the
Pamlico River over the
Pamlico-Tar River Bridge. Farther along, in
Williamston, US 17 (concurrent with
US 13) crosses the
Roanoke River, then the
Cashie River at
Windsor. At the
Bertie County–
Chowan county line, US 17 traverses the
Chowan River on the
Chowan River Bridge, one of the longest bridges along US 17's route. In
Perquimans County, US 17 (here concurrent with
NC 37) crosses the
Yeopim River and the
Perquimans River at
Hertford. Crossing into
Pasquotank County over the
Little River, US 17 enters
Elizabeth City and begins a short concurrency with
US 158. At
Morgan's Corner, the US 158 concurrency ends, and US 17 crosses the
Pasquotank River into
Camden County before heading north into
Virginia.
Virginia US 17 enters Virginia into the city of
Chesapeake, running along the border of the Great Dismal Swamp. It runs through more of the city of Chesapeake and around the cities of
Portsmouth and
Norfolk before it crosses the
James River between
Newport News and
Isle of Wight County on the
James River Bridge concurrent with
US 258. The route also crosses the
York River between
Gloucester and
York counties at
Yorktown on the
George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge. Finally, US 17 traverses the
Rappahannock River between
Stafford and
Spotsylvania counties at
Fredericksburg as it overlaps
I-95. Then it traverses the
Blue Ridge Mountains through
Fauquier County and crosses the town of
Warrenton. It then merges with
I-66 in
Marshall and runs concurrently until
Delaplane. The highway terminates at a junction with
US 11,
US 50 and
US 522 in
Winchester. ==History==