U.S. Highway 17 (US 17) in Florida is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs from the Punta Gorda, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area northeast to the Jacksonville metropolitan area.
As is the case with all Florida roads with American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) route numbers, the entirety of US 17 has a hidden Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) designation: State Road 35 (SR 35) from the route's terminus at US 41 in Punta Gorda to East Main Street in Bartow. State Road 555 (SR 555) from East Main Street in Bartow to US 92/SR 600 in Lake Alfred. SR 600 from Lake Alfred to DeLand along the course of the route's cosigning with US 92. SR 15 from the intersection with SR 50 and US 17/US 92/SR 15 south in Orlando to the Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway interchange in Jacksonville. SR 5 from the Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway interchange in Jacksonville to the Georgia state line over the St. Marys River.
Concurrencies include US 98 between Fort Meade and Bartow, and a notably long one with US 92 between Lake Alfred and northern DeLand, which itself includes concurrencies with US 192 in Kissimmee, US 441 between Kissimmee and Orlando, SR 50 in Orlando, and SR 46 in Sanford. Others include SR 20/SR 100 between San Mateo and Palatka and Interstate 10 (I-10), I-95, US 23, and US 1 in Downtown Jacksonville in that order.
Route description
Punta Gorda through Winter Haven
US 17 begins in downtown Punta Gorda at US 41 (Tamiami Trail). From here, it proceeds east as a pair of one-way streets along Marion and Olympia avenues. Once outside of the Punta Gorda city limits, the one-way streets rejoin each other becoming a six-lane highway. From here, it is briefly elevated over the Seminole Gulf Railway and city streets before intersecting with I-75 at exit 164 in Solana. After a brief jog east, it travels roughly northeast along the Peace River into DeSoto County, where it goes through Fort Ogden, Nocatee, and Arcadia. It splits into one-way streets again through Arcadia, where it intersects SR 70. Once out of Arcadia, it continues northeast into Hardee County. Here, it returns to a four lane divided highway with a speed limit. It continues to the cities of Zolfo Springs (where it crosses the Peace River) and Wauchula. At Fort Meade, it joins with US 98, which follows it northward (westward on US 98) until Bartow. While US 98 goes northwest, US 17 goes northeast.
In the city of Bartow, US 17 is known as Spessard Holland Parkway, named after the 28th governor of Florida. Here, US 98 leaves to the west at a connecting road to SR 60, where hidden SR 35 breaks away from US 17 and SR 555 replaces it. From here, US 17/SR 555 makes a sharp northeast turn into Gordonville as it passes by Bartow Executive Airport. North of there, US 17 serves as the main road through Eagle Lake. After the intersection of Crystal Beach Road, the highway divides into a one-way couplet with three lanes in each direction, with the northbound section on 5th Street and the southbound segment on 4th Street. The two segments converge again south of Cameron Road (Gilbert Road) to become a six-lane divided highway. At the next major intersection, SR 540 (Old 9 Foot Road) joins US 17 and both roads continue north in a short concurrency. At Eloise, Old 9 Foot Road moves east onto County Road 655 (CR 655), which is the southern terminus of SR 655 (South Lake Shipp Road) on the west side. A left turn at this intersection and a right turn onto the parallel Seventh Street Southwest takes motorists to Winter Haven station. US 17/SR 540 goes over the Amtrak line between lakes Shipp and Lulu, both of which go over a canal running between the two lakes. The canal serves as the southern border of Winter Haven. Descending as it passes Chain of Lakes Park, SR 540 leaves US 17 at Cypress Gardens Boulevard to continue eastward, but this intersection is also for Southwest Avenue R, which also leads to Winter Haven station. Between Avenue G Southwest and Avenue C Southwest, US 17 curves to the left from Third Street and then to the right onto Sixth Street. From there, it intersects Central Avenue, which is SR 542 east of US 17. After winding around Spring Lake east of Lake Mirror, the road runs along the west side of Inman Park until it reaches the intersection with SR 544.