British Columbia Highway 17

Highway 17 is a system of two separate highways: One on Vancouver Island, the other on the Lower Mainland, connected by a ferry link.

Route description

Vancouver Island section

The Island section of Highway 17 is known as the Patricia Bay Highway (locally abbreviated as the Pat Bay Highway) after nearby Patricia Bay, and is the main artery through the Saanich Peninsula, mostly travelling along its eastern coast. The highway is four lanes all the way from Victoria to Swartz Bay. The total length of the highway on the Island is 31 kilometres (19 mi). Highway 17 has had its present course through the area since 1960, when the Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal was completed.

In the south, Highway 17 begins at the intersection of Belleville and Oswego streets one block to the west of the British Columbia Parliament Buildings.

From Douglas and Blanshard, the highway travels north as Blanshard Street (a six lane divided city street) for 3 km (1.9 mi) through the city of Victoria before leaving the city at Tolmie Avenue and for another 2 km (1.24 mi) north through the city of Saanich to the Uptown Shopping Centre; Highway 17 then becomes the Pat Bay Highway and turns into a 6 km (3.7 mi)-long freeway, with three interchanges. After the third interchange at Royal Oak Drive, Highway 17 turns into a 14 km (8.7 mi) mix of divided four-lane arterial and expressway including an interchange at McTavish Road, until it reaches the town of Sidney. After exiting Sidney 3 km (1.9 mi) later, the Pat Bay once again becomes a freeway, with two more interchanges along its length, toward its northern terminus at the Swartz Bay ferry terminal another 3 km (1.9 mi) north.