beginning at the southern end of the army base, highway 17 follows the "pembroke bypass", bypassing west of petawawa and pembroke, where it intersects highway 41. the bypass ends at renfrew county road 40, north of muskrat lake. the highway then travels south through the town of cobden. it follows a bypass east of renfrew and meets highway 60. highway 17 curves east and passes north of alexander stewart provincial park. approximately west of scheel drive, west of arnprior, the highway divides and widens to four lanes, at which point highway 417 begins. a disconnected section of the highway (known as "old highway 17") still exists within the ottawa region between regional road 29 and grants side rd, travelling directly parallel to highway 417. however, it is likely to be downgraded and possibly absorbed as part of regional road 117.