Ottawa Road 174
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 is also known as the Queensway, in addition the "Queensway" name continues to be applied to Highway 417 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 Road 17. Originally the alignment of Highway 17, which was the route of the Trans-Canada Highway between Ottawa and the Quebec border, Regional Road 174 (as it was then designated) was created on April 1, 1997 when the provincial government of Mike Harris transferred responsibility for portions of the road to the Regional Municipality of Ottawa–Carleton and moved the Trans-Canada route onto Highway 417. The road was extended by a second transfer on January 1, 1998, bringing it to its current length. Route description. Ottawa Road174 is a municipal expressway 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 Prescott-Russell county line it becomes Prescott-Russell County Road17, which continues to Hawkesbury. History. Regional Road174 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 Regional Municipality of Ottawa–Carleton. The alignment of Regional Road174 originated during the late 1940s. Aiming to bypass the winding and hilly route between Montreal and Ottawa, the Department of Highways, predecessor to the Ministry of Transportation, planned a new route for Highway17. The majority of this new route was built along the right-of-way of a former Canadian Northern Railway track. Construction began in 1947 at Green's Creek, east of Gloucester, and proceeded east towards Rockland. Another contract, which  began in August 1949, extended construction beyond Trim Road to Canaan Road. The new route, which was internally referred to as Highway17 Alt, was completed and opened to traffic on November10, 1952. However, it was not given unique designation until 1955. To the west, construction of the Queensway was soon to begin. It was a major part of the Greber Plan, which was produced by Jacques Gréber under the direction of Prime Minister Mackenzie King in the late 1940s. Although Gréber had been corresponding with King as early as 1936, World War II halted any plans from reaching fruition at  that time. Following the war, Gréber was again contacted and his expertise requested. He arrived on October 2, 1945 and began working almost immediately. The Greber Plan was released in 1950 and presented to the House of Commons on May 22, 1951. The plan called for the complete reorganization of Ottawa's road and rail network, and included amongst the numerous parkways was an east to west expressway along what was then a Canadian National Railway line. With the rail lines removed, construction of the new expressway got underway in 1957 when Queen Elizabeth visited Ottawa to open the first  session of the 23rd Parliament. On October 15, the Queen detonated dynamite charges from the Hurdman Bridge, which now overlooks the highway as it crosses the Rideau River, and formally dedicated the new project as the Queensway. At the ceremony, premier Leslie Frost indicated that the entire project would cost C$31 million and emphasized the importance of the link to the Trans-Canada Highway. The Queensway was constructed in four phases, each opening independently. The section from Alta Vista Drive (now Riverside Drive) east to the split between Highway17 (Montreal Road) and Highway17 Alt was the first phase, and  was opened to traffic on November25, 1960, extending west to the Rideau River. Construction of a new freeway between Ottawa and Montreal, entirely bypassing the route of Highway17, began in the late 1960s. Contracts to construct the route were opened to bidding on November15, 1968; construction began in May 1969 starting at Base Line Road (now Ramsayville Road) and proceeding easterly. The segment of this new freeway that linked to the Queensway at "The Split" was the final one to open, on December2, 1975. The portion of the Queensway west of the new interchange became part of Highway417 by 1980 , while the portion to the east remained part of Highway17. Despite the protests of the city that the road served a provincial purpose, a second round of transfers saw Highway 17 east of Ottawa downloaded entirely on January 1, 1998 adding to the length of Regional Road 174. The Trans-Canada Highway designation was taken from the former Highway 17 and applied to the existing Highway 417 freeway in 1997-98. Ottawa immediately renumbered the transferred sections of Highway 17. Regional Road174 was renamed Ottawa Road174 when the Regional Municipality of Ottawa–Carleton amalgamated with the municipalities of the region  to form the new City of Ottawa in 2001, Over the past few years, traffic between Highway 417 and Rockland became much heavier due to suburban growth in Orléans and Rockland leading to frequent congestion during peak hours. Meanwhile, the easternmost portion of the road was regarded as dangerous due to several fatal accidents. In 2007, both the provincial and federal governments committed funding for the widening of Ottawa Road 174 between Trim Road and Rockland, although the widening project was still several years away. However, in April 2008, Ottawa City Council refused a $80 million funding from both  provincial and federal governments citing it would not benefit Ottawa, which delayed the construction indefinitely. Potential future transfer to the Province. The section of roadway costs the City of Ottawa millions to maintain, which has resulted in a backlog of repairs. Several sinkholes and potholes have remained unfixed for months. The road was built by the province the 1950s, then transferred to the cash strapped region in the late 1990s. The highway was called for expansion several times, but the unavailability of funds has resulted in increased congestion in the region. The city aims to negotiate a settlement to maintain  the roadway with the province in the future. Several municipal politicians have petitioned the province to turn the highway back into provincial jurisdiction.