Route Description
SR 17 begins at a diamond interchange with US 395 southeast of Mesa in Franklin County. The highway travels northwest through Mesa, where it crosses over a BNSF rail line and runs through Esquatzel Coulee before intersecting the terminus of SR 260 west of Connell in the Paradise Flats. SR 17 travels east of Scooteney Reservoir and northwest into Adams County before interesecting SR 26 in a diamond interchange east of Othello. The highway continues north into Grant County as the Coulee Corridor Scenic Byway and travels over the Columbia Basin Railroad into rural Adams County. The roadway serves as the western terminus of SR 170 and the eastern terminus of SR 262 west of Warden before continuing northwest towards Moses Lake.
SR 17 travels into the city of Moses Lake and intersects I-90 in a partial cloverleaf interchange, serving as the eastern terminus of I-90 Business and its concurrency with SR 17. The roadway expands to four lanes and turns north at Pioneer Way, where I-90 Business leaves the concurrency and travels into Downtown Moses Lake. SR 17 heads around Moses Lake and turn northwest onto a limited-access highway after an intersection with Broadway Avenue, signed as the northern terminus of SR 171. The limited-access highway intersects Stratford Road in a diamond interchange north of the city and heads northwest along Moses Lake through Moses Lake North, passing south of Grant County International Airport. SR 17 crosses Rocky Ford Creek and intersects SR 282 east of Ephrata in rural Grant County. The highway continues north and passes Ephrata Municipal Airport before it intersects SR 28 in Soap Lake.
SR 17 and the Coulee Corridor Scenic Byway continue northwest through the Grand Coulee and passing several lakes, including Soap Lake, Lake Lenore and Alkali Lake. The highway turns northeast onto the west shores of Blue Lake and Park Lake, and passes the Blue Lake rest area. The roadway enters Sun Lakes State Park and passes Dry Falls at the north end of the Grand Coulee. SR 17 intersects US 2, the continuation of the Coulee Corridor Scenic Byway, west of Coulee City at the southern end of Banks Lake and begins a concurrency into Douglas County. SR 17 briefly travels west with US 2 and turns north to intersect the eastern terminus of SR 172 at Sims Corner. From Sims Corner, the roadway follows East Foster Creek northward to the western terminus of SR 174 and its spur route in Leahy.
The highway continues northwest to Bridgeport at the southern terminus of SR 173 and crossing the Columbia River on the 1,108.80-foot-long (337.96 m) Columbia River Bridge (also named the Bridgeport Bridge) downstream from the Chief Joseph Dam. The steel continuous riveted deck truss bridge, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, carries SR 17 into Okanogan County and the Colville Indian Reservation, west of Bridgeport State Park. The highway continues north along the east bank of the Columbia River before passing through Fort Okanogan and ending at an intersection with US 97 east of Brewster near the confluence of the Columbia and Okanogan rivers.
Every year, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) conducts a series of surveys on its highways in the state to measure traffic volume. This is expressed in terms of annual average daily traffic (AADT), which is a measure of traffic volume for any average day of the year. In 2011, WSDOT calculated that the busiest section of the highway was the expressway between SR 171 and Stratford Road in Moses Lake, serving an average of 19,000 vehicles, while the least busiest section of the highway was between SR 172 in Sims Corner and SR 174 in Leahy, serving an average of 570 vehicles. SR 17 between Mesa and the Moses Lake area is designated as part of the National Highway System, which includes roadways important to the national economy, defense, and mobility; and as part of WSDOT's Highways of Statewide Significance, which includes highways that connect major communities in the state of Washington.
Read more about this topic: Washington State Route 17
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