NY 17 is one of New York State's longest touring routes. There are two distinct segments of NY 17; I will concern myself with the western portion.
NY 17's western terminus is at the New York/Pennyslvania border near North East, Pennsylvania. From the border to Binghamton, New York, NY 17 is the Southern Tier Expressway, a full Interstate-standard freeway.
The Southern Tier Expressway, also designated I-86, winds through the Allegheny Plateau, through the small towns of Jamestown, Salamanca, and Hornell; through the counties of Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, and Allegheny, before meeting up with I-390 in Steuben County. I-390 heads north to Rochester. Traffic was quiet and the road was desolate; however, now we are entering a metro area.
Traffic picks up east of Avoca, as we head southeast to the city of Corning. NY 17 flies around the north of Corning on a shiny new bypass, less than a decade old. Traffic really picks up here, as we will be heading through Big Flats, Horseheads, and finally Elmira. Just to the east of Corning, we cross into Chemung County, and I-86 ends. This stretch of highway is very substandard, with many at-grade intersections. We pass through Elmira on the crickity old road, passing the brand-new Lowman interchange on the way. After a while, we finally leave Lowman, and we're on our way east. The speed limit goes back to 65, and the highway is once again a rural road.
NY 17 enters Tioga County, jets through the Valley, a good-sized community made of Waverly, New York, Sayre, Pennsylvania, and Athens, Pennsylvania. NY 17 briefly dips into Pennsylvania here, but it is still maintained by NYSDOT. The mighty 17 winds through the hills of Tioga County, before reaching Owego, the site of an old Indian village. This is officially the Binghamton metro area. The Southern Tier Expressway enters Broome County, before ending majestically at I-81 at the infamous Kamikaze Curve.
This writeup is a work in progress stillborn. I need to revise the STE parts, not to mention discussing the Quickway.