Is the Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8G AF-S DX Nikkor Lens sharp? This page visually answers that question. Shown above are 100% crops from a lab-captured 35mm f/5.6 test image. Observe the contrast and resolution of these results.
Is the Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8G AF-S DX Nikkor Lens set to 35mm f/5.6 sharper than the Nikon 16-80mm f/2.8-4E AF-S DX VR Lens set to 24mm f/3.2? The image quality comparison above also answers that question. Switch between the results to see the sharpness differences between these lenses.