 Prior to 1927 , the route was designated as Route 17N , which was to run from Newark to the New York state line . This route had followed various local streets , including the Franklin Turnpike north of Hackensack . In 1927 , Route 17N became Route 2 , which was designated along the portion of Route 17N between Route 7 in North Arlington to the New York border near Suffern , New York . This route was moved to a multilane divided highway alignment north of Rutherford by 1937 . Route 2 became Route 17 in 1942 to match the designation of New York State Route 17 for defense purposes during World War II . The entire Route 17 corridor was once planned to be a freeway until the 1960s and later plans to extend the route south of Route 3 to Interstate 280 in 1972 and to the New Jersey Turnpike in 1987 both failed . Over the years , the portion of Route 17 north of Route 3 has seen many improvements , including the widening of much of the road to six lanes and the removal of most at @-@ grade intersections in the 1950s as well as more recent improvements to the interchanges with Route 4 in Paramus in 1999 and Essex Street on the Lodi / Maywood border in 2008 . The route is currently undergoing improvements between Route 3 and U.S. Route 46 and is expected to see improvements from Williams Avenue in Hasbrouck Heights to south of Route 4 in Paramus . 
