OR 217 originally ran along surface streets before it was relocated to freeway sections. The highway started at the junction of
OR 8 and Hall Boulevard. in Beaverton, continuing along Hall Boulevard through Beaverton, Progress, Metzger, and Tigard for until it reached Durham Road. There, it took a left onto Durham Road, following it for about until the intersection with Boones Ferry Road. It remained on Boones Ferry Road through Durham, Tualatin, and Wilsonville for about , crossing the Willamette River on the
Boones Ferry and continuing south for another until finally ending at
OR 99E at Aurora, for a grand total of about or so. The southern terminus was scaled back to Wilsonville (current I-5 exit 286) with the completion of I-5 to Portland. This older highway, called the Beaverton-Aurora Highway, was kept in the state highway system as the Beaverton-Tualatin Highway No. 141, and was recently given the route designation
OR 141. The freeway carrying OR 217 was built in the mid-1960s to early 1970s in several stages, generally beginning at the south end. The full length of the freeway was repaved for the first time in the mid-1980s, along with the replacement of metal median barriers with concrete dividers. By 1985, approximately 60,000 to 68,000 vehicles used OR 217 daily. The intersection of OR 217 and US 26 in Beaverton was replaced with an interchange in 1986 after two years of construction. == Future ==