Ontario Highway 98

Highway 98 was first assigned in 1939 out of a route renumbering scheme.[7] However, the route it would follow was already maintained by the Department of Public Highway (DPHO), predecessor to the modern Ministry of Transportation of Ontario, as early as 1920. Although the rest of the route which would later become Highway 2, from London to the Quebec boundary, was easily decided upon, the section west of London became a contentious local issue. Cities including Sarnia, St. Thomas, Leamington, Chatham, Tilbury, Windsor, and even London itself, as well as numerous road and business associations, lobbied the provincial government to take over certain roads that would provide the greatest benefit to them. London and St. Thomas in particular insisted that "the Provincial Highway" follow the Longwood Road or the Talbot Road, respectively.[8] In the end, the province chose to utilise both the Longwood and Talbot roads, creating an entire network of highways in the process.[9] In April 1920, the DPHO assumed control of several roads connecting Windsor with London via Maidstone, Tilbury and Chatham as part of "the Provincial Highway".[10]

The Provincial Highway was assigned a number — Highway 2 — during the summer of 1925.[11] It travelled concurrently with the International Highway — Highway 3 — from the former ferry docks at Riverside Drive and Ouellette Avenue. It then followed Ouellette Avenue south to Tecumseh Road, where it jogged west and turned south onto Dougall Avenue, then onto Howard Avenue, and east along Talbot Road. At Maidstone, the concurrency ended, with Highway 2 branching northeast along Malden Road and east on Middle Road.[12] This arrangement would remain in place until the opening of the Ambassador Bridge on November 15, 1929,[13] which would result in several modifications to the highway network within Essex County.

In anticipation of the opening of the Ambassador Bridge, as well as the nearby Detroit–Windsor tunnel, Windsor and the surrounding townships sought road improvements between Windsor and Maidstone to alleviate traffic along Talbot Road and bypass or separate several level crossings of the Michigan Central Railway (MCR) beginning in early 1929.[14][15][16] The province chose to designate a new right-of-way adjacent to and north of the MCR in July of that year,[17] and spent the next several months constructing the cut-off (now known as Provincial Road) from Howard Avenue to north of Maidstone. [18] By 1930, Highway 2 had been rerouted to begin at the ferry docks, following Ouellette Avenue to Tecumseh Road, then east to and south along Howard Avenue; the short segment near Maidstone became Highway 2A.[19]

Facing west towards downtown Windsor along Ouellette Avenue in 1951. The sign assembly at right features reassurance markers for Highway 2, Highway 3B, Highway 39, and Highway 98.

Meanwhile, the province set out to build a third highway into Windsor. Essex County had designated County Road 19 along Cabana Road (now Division Road) and Baseline Road to Tilbury on April 19, 1928,[20] and soon thereafter the DPHO promised to take over the route as a new provincial highway.[21] Highway 18 was officially designated on June 11, 1930 along the route,[22] while construction was already underway on a gentle curve between Provincial Road and the new highway, which was completed on June 17, 1931.[23] Between then and the end of 1931, several more changes were made to the highway system. Since the route of Highway 18 was shorter than the route of Highway 2 between Windsor and Tilbury, the newly renamed Department of Highways (DHO) renumbered Highway 18 as Highway 2, while the old route of Highway 2 became Highway 2A.[24][25]

In 1939, the province instituted a change to its "numbering" policy in which lettered suffixes would only be used for short feeder routes and not for long distance routes. Consequently, Highway 2A became Highway 98 effective March 18, 1939.[2] Taking inspiration from a program first carried out in Welland County in the summer of 1931 by the Rose Highway Association,[26][27] the Essex County Tourist Association and Essex County Automobile Club began providing rose bushes to property owners along the route at reduced costs, gaining Highway 98 the nickname "The Rose Trail".[28]

Highway 98 was extended east through Kent County to Blenheim along Kent County Road 8 on April 30, 1941, increasing its length by 39.0 km (24.2 mi).[29] The short section of Highway 98 along Queen Street through Tilbury was redesignated as Highway 98B, but was never signed as such.[30] Initially, the new section of Highway 98 was paved through the village of Merlin as well as between Charing Cross and Blenheim, while the remainder was gravel-surfaced.[31] Paving operations resumed following World War II, with the section between Merlin and Charing Cross being paved in 1946.[32] The last remaining gravel section, between Tilbury and Merlin, was paved in 1950.[33]

Aerial view of Highway 401 facing southwest in 1958. The interchange with Highway 98 is in the foreground, and the split at Dougall Parkway in the background.

Construction of Highway 401 in the Essex county began in the early 1950s, with the new "superhighway" opening in segments as it was completed. While the section from Highway 98 to west of Tilbury was opened on August 15, 1957,[34] steel shortages would delay the completion of the entrances into Windsor until June 9, 1958.[35][36] A bypass around Tilbury opened November 20, 1961.[37] East of Tilbury, the highway was opened one carriageway at a time; the westbound lanes opened to Highwa 21 on September 20, 1963,[38] while the eastbound lanes opened as far east as Bloomfield Road south of Chatham on September 17, 1964,[39] and several months later to the Kent County boundary on December 7.[40]

Following the completion of Highway 401, the DHO commissioned the Southwestern Ontario Area Planning Study in 1966, which examined traffic patterns and determined ideal travel lines and redundant routes. The new freeway had shifted the majority of long-distance traffic onto it, and severely reduced volume on parallel routes (Highways 2, 3, 39, 18, and 98). Accordingly, the DHO sought to divest itself of the costs of maintaining these roads.[41][42] The portion of Highway 98 east of Tilbury was transferred to Kent County on May 21, 1970, in exchange for the DHO assuming Highway 40 between Chatham and Blenheim.[43][44] The portion between Windsor and Tilbury was supposed to be transferred to Essex County on June 1, 1970,[30] but was delayed until April 1, 1971.[45] This removed Highway 98 from the provincial highway system entirely. The former highway has since been known as Essex County Road 46 west of Tilbury, and Kent County Road 8 or Chatham-Kent Municipal Road 8 east of Tilbury.[44][46]