Route 17 is a state highway in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, that provides a major route from the George Washington Bridge, Lincoln Tunnel and other northeast New Jersey points to the New York State Thruway at Suffern, New York. It runs from an intersection with Route 7 and County Route 507 (CR 507) in North Arlington north to the New York state line along Interstate 287 (I-287) in Mahwah, where New York State Route 17 (NY 17) continues into New York. Between Route 7 and Route 3 in Rutherford, Route 17 serves as a local road. From Route 3 north to the junction with U.S. Route 46 (US 46) in Hasbrouck Heights, the road is an arterial road with jughandles. The portion of Route 17 from US 46 to I-287 near the state line in Mahwah is a four- to six-lane arterial with all cross traffic handled by interchanges, and many driveways and side streets accessed from right-in/right-out ramps from the right lane. For three miles (5 km) north of Route 4, well over a hundred retail stores and several large shopping malls line the route in the borough of Paramus. The remainder of this portion of Route 17 features lighter suburban development. The northernmost portion of Route 17 in Mahwah runs concurrently with I-287 to the New York state line.
Prior to 1927, the route was designated as Route 17N, which was to run from Newark to the New York state line. This route had followed various local streets, including Franklin Turnpike north of Hackensack. In 1927, Route 17N became Route 2, which was designated along the portion of Route 17N between Route 7 in North Arlington to the New York border near Suffern, New York. This route was moved to a multilane divided highway alignment north of Rutherford by 1937. Route 2 became Route 17 in 1942 to match the designation of NY 17 for defense purposes during World War II. The entire Route 17 corridor was once planned to be a freeway until the 1960s, and later plans to extend the route south of Route 3 to I-280 in 1972 and to the New Jersey Turnpike in 1987 both failed. Over the years, the portion of Route 17 north of Route 3 has seen many improvements, including the widening of much of the road to six lanes and the removal of most at-grade intersections in the 1950s as well as more recent improvements to the interchanges with Route 4 in Paramus in 1999 and Essex Street/Maywood Avenue on the Lodi/Maywood border in 2008. The route is currently undergoing improvements between Route 3 and US 46 and is expected to see improvements from Williams Avenue in Hasbrouck Heights to south of Route 4 in Paramus.
Route description
left|thumb|First northbound Route 17 reassurance shield past the southern terminus at Route 7/CR 507 in North Arlington
Route 17 begins at an intersection with Route 7 and CR 507 (Belleville Turnpike) on the border of Kearny, Hudson County and North Arlington, Bergen County. It heads north through North Arlington on Ridge Road, a two-lane local street that passes by businesses and the Holy Cross Cemetery on the east side of the road. It intersects CR 26 (Jauncey Avenue) and crosses into Lyndhurst at the Lincoln Avenue intersection. In Lyndhurst, Route 17 intersects CR 28 (Kingsland Avenue) and passes over NJ Transit's Main Line at Kingsland station. At the intersection of CR 30 (Rutherford Avenue), which runs along the border of Lyndhurst and Rutherford, the route turns east onto Rutherford Avenue to parallel the Route 3 freeway to the south and head for the edge of the New Jersey Meadowlands, widening to a four-lane arterial road at the intersection with Orient Way. Route 17 makes a curve to the south, crossing entirely into Lyndhurst, and makes a hairpin turn to the north, widening to a divided highway. The road then crosses into Rutherford and comes to the Route 3 interchange. Route 17 continues north through commercial areas, crossing into Rochelle Park where the route passes over New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway's New Jersey Subdivision line and interchanges with CR 62 (Passaic Street) before entering Paramus.
thumb|left|Route 17 northbound in Lodi
Route 17N was defined in 1923 to run "from Newark, by way of Kearny, Rutherford, Hackensack, Ridgewood and Ramsey to the New York State Line". However, only the road north of Route 10 (Essex Street) in Hackensack was shown on the 1925 New Jersey State Highway Department Official State Map, running north along existing roads—First Street and the Franklin Turnpike (now partly called Passaic Street and Paramus Road)—to the state line.