Georgia State Route 17
State Route 17 is a state highway that travels northwest–southeast in the east-central and northeastern parts of the U.S. state of Georgia. The highway connects the Savannah metro area to the North Carolina state line, northwest of Hiawassee and runs roughly parallel to the South Carolina state line. It is considered the fourth-longest state highway in the state of Georgia, only behind SR 3.Route description
SR 17 begins at an interchange with SR 21 Alternate in Port Wentworth near the junction of SR 21 and SR 30, at the junction of the Jimmy DeLoach Parkway and the Sonny Dixon Interchange. SR 17 travels west on the Jimmy DeLoach Parkway, briefly entering the Savannah city limits, where it crosses over I-95 at exit 106. SR 17 and the Jimmy DeLoach Parkway continue west to Bloomingdale, where it begins a concurrency with US 80/SR 26 westward and meets the northern terminus of SR 17 Conn. After entering Effingham County, SR 17 departs US 80/SR 26, and continues northwest, paralleling the Ogeechee River through rural parts of Effingham, Screven, and Jenkins Counties before arriving in Millen.
After a short concurrency with SR 23 and SR 67 in Millen, SR 17 continues west, then northwest, still parallel to the Ogeechee River, to Louisville. SR 17 travels concurrent with US 1/US 221/SR 4 from Louisville north to Wrens. In Wrens, SR 17 departs and continues to the northwest to Thomson.
In Thomson, SR 17 travels concurrent with US 78/SR 10 north to Washington. Just north of Thomson is an interchange with I-20. In Washington, SR 17 intersects US 378, and departs the concurrency with US 78/SR 10, before leaving the town.Washington to Toccoa
After traveling through Washington, SR 17 travels through the small town of Tignall as it continues into the mountains of northeast Georgia, first passing through Elberton, where it has a short concurrency with SR 72, then Bowman, where it intersects SR 172, and bypassing the main part of the city of Royston.
In Canon, it intersects and begins to travel concurrent with SR 51; the concurrency ends in the small town of Bowersville, where SR 51 departs east towards Hartwell, and SR 17 heads north towards the city of Lavonia. In Lavonia, SR 17 goes through downtown before becoming a divided highway as it has a partial cloverleaf interchange with I-85 just north of downtown Lavonia. Afterwards, the divided highway ends, and SR 17 continues on its way through rural Stephens County before reaching the city of Toccoa.Toccoa to North Carolina
Southeast of Toccoa, the highway turns to a westerly direction, bypassing the city on another divided highway towards Clarkesville, traveling concurrent with US 123/SR 365 in the process. Sometime after entering Habersham County, the highway departs northwest, with US 123 ending soon after and SR 365 heading southwest towards the cities of Gainesville and Atlanta. There is a concurrency with SR 115 somewhere around the Clarkesville area. Outside of Clarkesville, the highway continues northwest, traveling through the historic Nacoochee Valley.
SR 17 then begins a concurrency with SR 75. The highways travel north through the tourist town of Helen. The two highway continue north over Unicoi Gap, then descend into the Hiawassee River valley. East of the town of Hiawassee, Georgia, the highways begin a concurrency with US 76/SR 2.
In Hiawassee, SR 75 departs to the northeast. A few miles to the west, north-northeast of Young Harris, SR 17 departs US 76/SR 2, and begins a short concurrency to the north with SR 515 until they both reach their northern terminus at the North Carolina state line. The road continues into North Carolina as North Carolina Highway 69.The following portions of SR 17 are part of the National Highway System, a system of routes determined to be the most important for the nation's economy, mobility, and defense:
- From Louisville to a point west of Clarkesville
- The concurrency with US 76/SR 2
History
1920s
SR 17 was established at least as early as 1919 from SR 26 in Swainsboro to Warrenton. It also extended from SR 12 in Thomson, with no indication on the 1920 map as to whether it was concurrent with SR 12 between these segments to the South Carolina state line northeast of Toccoa. Between Royston and Toccoa, SR 17 took a more western path, through Canon and Carnesville, than it does today. At this time, an unnumbered road was built from Canon to Toccoa, on the current path of SR 17. Also, SR 2 was built on an alignment from west-northwest of Clayton to west-southwest of Hiawassee. By the end of 1921, SR 17 was proposed to be extended southward through Lyons to Baxley. The Louisville–Gibson segment was shifted eastward to become the Louisville–Wrens segment. This new path was concurrent with SR 24. SR 17 traveled west from Wrens to Gibson and then resumed its previous path. SR 17 was indicated to be concurrent with SR 12 between Warrenton and Thomson. The Canon–Carnesville segment was redesignated as part of SR 51. SR 17 was designated on the previously unnumbered road from Canon to Toccoa. Also, the segment from Toccoa to the South Carolina state line was redesignated as part of SR 13. Also, an unnumbered road was built from Hiawassee to the North Carolina state line north of that city. By the end of 1926, US 1 was designated on the Swainsboro–Wrens segment, while US 78 was designated on the Thomson–Washington segment. SR 17, concurrent with SR 32, was built from Baxley to Lyons, and was built solely on the Lyons–Swainsboro segment. The Emanuel County portion of the Swainsboro–Louisville segment, as well as the segment of SR 17 and SR 24 from Louisville to Wrens, was under construction. The Jefferson County portion of the Swainsboro–Louisville segment, approximately half of the Thomson–Washington segment, a segment just north of Washington, from just south of the Wilkes–Elbert county line to the Elbert–Hart county line, from the Franklin–Stephens county line to Toccoa, and from west of Clayton to Hiawassee, had a "sand clay or top soil" surface. The segment in the vicinity of Washington, as well as a longer segment farther north of Washington, had a completed hard surface. By the end of the decade, SR 32 was removed from the Baxley–Lyons segment, and SR 24 was removed from the Louisville–Wrens segment. This was due to SR 32 and SR 24 being re-routed on different alignments in their respective areas.1930s
In 1930, the then-southern terminus was truncated from Baxley to Wrens. The state highway on its former alignment between these two cities was redesignated as SR 4, with US 1 still on that alignment. SR 80 was designated on the Gibson–Warrenton segment. A small portion west-southwest of Hiawassee had a completed hard surface. Later that year, the then-southern terminus was shifted southward to a point between Louisville and Wrens. The segment between Stapleton and Warrenton was shifted eastward to enter Thomson. At this time, the previously unnumbered road north of Hiawassee was designated as SR 69, with a completed semi hard surface. In January 1932, the McDuffie County portion of the Stapleton–Thomson segment was under construction. Also, SR 17 was extended west-southwest along SR 13 to a point northeast of Cornelia, and then northwest to Clarkesville and west-southwest to Cleveland. The next month, SR 17 was extended south-southwest along US 1/SR 4 to Louisville, then southwest to Midville, and east-southeast to Millen. In April of that year, SR 75 was extended from Nacoochee to SR 2 at a point east-southeast of Hiawassee. This segment of SR 2 had a sand clay or top soil surface. Later that year, SR 75 from Nacoochee to east-southeast of Hiawassee was under construction. By the middle of 1933, the McDuffie County portion of the Thomson–Washington segment was under construction. Also, a small portion southeast of Elberton had a completed hard surface. A few months later, the segment of SR 17 that traveled from Toccoa to Cleveland was shifted eastward to travel northwest from Toccoa to end at an intersection with SR 15. Its former alignment was redesignated as SR 115. A year later, SR 69 was shifted westward to begin northwest of Hiawassee; its new path was under construction. The entire Thomson–Washington segment, as well as a small portion northwest of Elberton, had a completed hard surface. Before the year ended, US 76 was designated on the segment of SR 2 from east-southeast of Hiawassee to west-northwest of the city. By the middle of the next year, the Hart County portion of the Elberton–Royston segment was under construction. A few months later, the southern half of the segment from Royston to Canon was also under construction. At the end of the year, the entire length of SR 69 had a completed hard surface. In early 1936, the McDuffie County portion of the Stapleton–Thomson segment had completed grading, but was not surfaced. A few months later, the western part of the Jenkins County portion of the Millen–Midville segment was under construction. The southern half of the Royston–Canon segment had a sand clay or top soil surface. Also, the portion northwest of Toccoa had a completed semi hard surface. In 1937, the Jenkins County portion of the Millen–Midville segment had completed grading, but was not surfaced. The Burke County portion of this segment was under construction. A portion west-northwest of Midville also had completed grading, but was not surfaced. The Hart County portion of the Elberton–Royston segment, as well as a portion of it southeast of Toccoa, had a completed hard surface. A few months later, the Burke County portion of the Millen–Midville segment had completed grading, but was not surfaced. Before 1938, SR 105 was designated from Clarkesville to Nacoochee. Also, the segment of SR 17 from Royston to Bowersville had completed grading, but was not surfaced. Later that year, the northwest part of the Elbert County portion, as well as a small portion east-southeast of Hiawassee, had a completed hard surface. At the same time, the segment northwest of Toccoa had completed grading, but was not surfaced. By the middle of 1939, a portion north of Washington, as well as the Elberton–Royston segment, had a completed hard surface. The segment from Bowersville to Lavonia was under construction. The Elbert County portion of the Lavonia–Toccoa segment had completed grading, but was not surfaced. At the same time, the portion of SR 17 northwest of Toccoa, as well as the portion of SR 75 from Nacoochee to east-southeast of Hiawassee, had a completed semi hard surface. Later that year, the McDuffie County portion of the Stapleton–Thomson segment, as well as the portion from Royston to north of Bowersville, had a completed hard surface.