Most of the route is a Super two road with at-grade intersections, with the exception of short section of divided freeway at an interchange with Highway 69.

The four lane divided freeway immediately narrows to a two-lane road as it makes a broad turn from the southeast to the northeast and crosses Junction Creek.

It passes Fielding Memorial Park and bird sanctuary before travelling alongside the south shore of Kelly Lake.

The Southeast Bypass ends soon thereafter at a signalized intersection with Sudbury Municipal Road 55, approximately 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) west of Coniston.

[8] Following the completion of the "Sudbury-North Bay Area Highway Planning Study" in 1973, construction of the 13.0-kilometre (8.1 mi) Southwest Bypass began by mid-year.

[14] One of the first projects to begin following these studies was a 19.7-kilometre (12.2 mi) four-lane bypass of Highway 17 between Lively and west of Whitefish, on which construction started in 1976.

[11][17] Construction of the Southeast Bypass, including an interchange at Highway 69 to avoid interruptions during future four-laning, began in July 1992.

[22] In the Ministry of Transportation's current freeway conversion proposals for the bypass, access will be eliminated at all at-grade intersections.

[23] The following table lists the major junctions along Southwest and Southeast Bypasses, as noted by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario.