 SR 17 was established during the merger of three highways during the 1964 highway renumbering: Secondary State Highway 11G (SSH 11G) between Eltopia and Soap Lake, a branch of Primary State Highway 7 (PSH 7) between Soap Lake and Coulee City, and a branch of PSH 10 between Coulee City and Brewster. The PSH 10 branch was codified in 1931 as a branch of State Road 10 and was followed by the PSH 7 branch during the creation of the primary state highway system in 1937. The Columbia River Bridge at Bridgeport was completed in 1950 and the PSH 10 branch was re-aligned onto the north side of the Columbia River the following year. SSH 11G was created in 1951 and was moved to a wider, straighter route between Moses Lake and Soap Lake in the 1960s. The highway was replaced by a limited-access highway north of Moses Lake in 2007. SR 17 between Eltopia and Mesa was replaced by US 395 in 1979 as part of a larger series of projects in the area to improve the highway in Franklin County.
