Ottawa Road 174, formerly Ottawa-Carleton Regional Road 174 and commonly referred to as Highway 174, is a city-maintained road in the City of Ottawa which serves the eastern suburbs of Orléans and Cumberland. The four-lane freeway segment between Highway 417/Aviation Parkway junction to Trim Road (Ottawa Road57) is also known as the Queensway, in addition the Queensway name continues to be applied to Highway417 west of that intersection. Although the road continues through the towns of Rockland and Hawkesbury to the Quebec border, the portion east of the Ottawa city boundary is known as Prescott and Russell County Road17.
Originally the alignment of Highway 17, which was the route of the Trans-Canada Highway between Ottawa and the Quebec border, Regional Road174 (as it was then designated) was created on April1, 1997 when the provincial government transferred responsibility for portions of the road to the township of Gloucester and the township of Cumberland and moved the Trans-Canada route onto Highway417. The road was extended by a second transfer on January1, 1998, bringing it to its current length.
Route description
Ottawa Road174 is a freeway on the east side of Ottawa that extends from The Split — an interchange with Highway417 — to the city limits at Canaan Road. The segment between the Highway417 junction and Trim Road is a four-lane controlled-access highway, while the remainder east of Trim Road is a rural two lane arterial road. Dedicated OC Transpo bus lanes are in the shoulder lanes in each direction from Blair Road to Place d'Orléans. At the United Counties of Prescott and Russell county line it becomes Prescott-Russell County Road 17, which continues to Hawkesbury.
Beginning at the split with Highway417, the opposing lanes of Ottawa Road174 (henceforth referred to as Highway174) converge together as a divided four lane highway, and proceed northeast into the Beacon Hill neighbourhood of Ottawa. An interchange serves Blair Road (Ottawa Road27), after which a pair of bus lanes join the outside of the highway. Construction is underway on Stage2 of O-Train's Confederation Line, which will result in an LRT between the opposing lanes of the freeway from east of Blair Road to Trim Road. The route curves northward to run parallel to Green Creek within the Greenbelt along the southeast side of Gloucester, before encountering an interchange with Montreal Road (Ottawa Road34, and the original route of Highway17). After curving back to the northeast and crossing Green Creek, the highway passes through farm fields then enters the bedroom community of Orléans.
Highway174 travels in a straight line for approximately through the northern part of Orléans, with interchanges at Jeanne D'Arc Boulevard (Ottawa Road55) and Champlain Street within the Covenant Glen neighbourhood. Between the two interchanges, the highway is crossed by Orleans Boulevard, while the Place d'Orléans shopping mall is located at the latter interchange. A final interchange, with Tenth Line Road (Ottawa Road 47/47A), lies northeast of the mall. The divided road ends shortly after an at-grade intersection with Trim Road and the route narrows to two lanes.
Beyond Trim Road, Highway174 gradually curves east and follows along the southern shore of the Ottawa River. It passes through the village of Cumberland, where it is briefly sandwiched between the river and the original routing of Highway17 along Old Montreal Road. It passes north of the Cumberland Heritage Village Museum and exits the village. Highway174 ends shortly thereafter at an intersection with Canaan Road. Prescott-Russell County Road17 continues beyond the intersection towards Hawkesbury and the Quebec boundary.
History
Highway174 was created on April1, 1997, when the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario transferred the responsibility of maintenance and upkeep along of Highway17, between Highway417 and Trim Road (Regional Road57), to the township of Gloucester and the township of Cumberland.