California State Highway 17
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Cal_Highway_17_curves.jpg
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Route Summary
Highway 17, legislatively deemed California State Route 17, is a freeway and expressway that runs between San Jose, California and Santa Cruz, California. Much of its length goes through the Santa Cruz Mountains, where the four-lane expressway twists and turns from the Santa Clara Valley up to a summit at 1,800 feet (545m) and then back to sea level in Santa Cruz.
From Los Gatos to the northern terminus in San Jose, Highway 17 is a freeway with as many as eight lanes at some points. The southern portion from Scotts Valley to Santa Cruz is a four-lane freeway.
Highway 17 carries substantial commuter and vacation traffic between San Jose and Santa Cruz. Its combination of narrow shoulders, dense and high-speed traffic (despite a lower speed limit of 50 mph (80 km/h) in most sections), sharp turns, and sudden changes in traffic speeds makes it one of the most dangerous highways in California. The cost of improving the treacherous expressway segment to modern freeway standards has been estimated to be at least $200 million.
History
Until 1983, Highway 17 extended from its current southern terminus at California State Route 1 in Santa Cruz through Oakland and across the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge to San Rafael, California. The roadway still exists; however, the section between Interstate 80 and U.S. Highway 101 in San Rafael was renumbered as an extension of Interstate 580. Additionally, Highway 17 between Interstate 280 in San Jose and the freeway's new northern terminus in Oakland was re-designated as Interstate 880 later that year.
Exits
Highway 17 has Cal-NExUS numbered exits on its freeway portion. The non-freeway portion has exits and turnoffs which are not numbered. The exits are listed below. As of 2005, only one exit (23) has numbered signs, which is only numbered in the northbound direction.
| Exit | Northbound interchange | Southbound interchange |
|---|---|---|
| 1A | CA-1 North | |
| 1B | CA-1 South | |
| 1C/1 | Pasatiempo | |
| 3 | Mt. Hermon Road | |
| 5 | Granite Creek Road | |
| - | Summit Road (non-freeway exit) | |
| - | Bear Creek Road (non-freeway exit) | |
| 19 | Santa Cruz Avenue | |
| 20A | East Los Gatos | |
| 20B | CA-9 West / Saratoga | |
| 21 | Lark Avenue | |
| 22 | CA-85 Mountain View / Gilroy | |
| 23 | Camden Avenue / San Tomas Expressway | |
| 25 | Hamilton Avenue | |
| 26A | I-280 South | |
| 26B | I-280 North | |
| Legend | ||
| Junction | ||
| Terminus | ||
| Exits with numbered signs | ||
Legal Definition
California Streets and Highways Code
317. Route 17 is from Route 1 near Santa Cruz to Route 280 in San Jose.
Source: California Streets and Higwhays code (http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=shc&group=00001-01000&file=300-635)
California Freeway and Expressway System
253.2. The California freeway and expressway system shall also include: ... Route 17 from: (a) Route 1 near Santa Cruz to Granite Creek Road near Scott's Valley. (b) The south city limits of Los Gatos to Route 280 in San Jose. Route 20 from Route 101 to Route 80 near Emigrant Gap.
Source: California Streets and Higwhays code (http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=shc&group=00001-01000&file=250-257)
References
- CalNEXUS (http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/traffops/signtech/calnexus/) report for 17N (http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/traffops/signtech/calnexus/reports/seventeennorth.htm) and 17S (http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/traffops/signtech/calnexus/reports/seventeensouth.htm)
- Richard Beal: Highway 17: The Road to Santa Cruz. Aptos, California: Pacific Group, 1990. ISBN 0-962-99740-4
External links
- hiway17.com (http://www.hiway17.com)