The N17 is a national route in South Africa which runs from Johannesburg to Oshoek (Ngwenya) on the border with Eswatini.

The section from Springs to Leandra, ending at the interchange with the R50, was constructed by the then Transvaal Provincial Administration (TPA) in 1990 as a single carriageway road.

SANRAL commenced with toll feasibility investigations in 2001 for the N17 after which consultants were appointed for the rehabilitation, upgrading as well as design of new sections for the N17 from Springs to Ermelo.

In general terms the route can be described as the existing N17 between Springs and Oshoek, with approximately 26 km of newly constructed sections.

[1] The N17 national route continues for 50 kilometres eastwards from the R51 Springs junction, meeting the R42 and bypassing Devon, to cross into Mpumalanga province and reach the town of Leandra.

(Avoiding the Leandra Town Centre and the upcoming Kinross Town Centre by bypassing to the south) So, as the R29 used to end at the junction with the R50, it now also continues eastwards on that old section of the N17 route through Leandra Central and Kinross Central, remaining an alternative route to the current N17.

[1] From the R50 junction, the N17 continues eastwards for twenty kilometres, bypassing Kinross, to meet the R580 road at a point north-east of Evander and north-west of Secunda.

As the N17 used to pass through the Trichardt town centre, it has now been realigned to bypass it to the north, remaining one continuous main road.

[1] From the R35 split in Bethal, the N17 goes eastwards for fifty kilometres to the city of Ermelo, which marks the end of section 4 of the proclaimed N17 route.

[1] As of 2015, plans are underway to find a route for construction in order for traffic to skip the town centre.

At the junction with the southern terminus of the R36 road approximately 7 kilometres from Ermelo Central, the N17 continues eastwards by way of a right turn.

[1] There were plans to extend the N17 (Section 1) westwards from its present terminus with the M11 at Wemmer Pan Road in Johannesburg to Krugersdorp.