Ontario Highway 98

The route travelled through the northern part of Essex County and through south-central Chatham-Kent, extending 96.3 kilometres (59.8 mi) from Windsor to Blenheim.

It followed this road east, travelling through the communities of Pleasant Park, North Woodslee and Ruscom Station before curving northeast and through Comber.

At the intersection of Queen Street South and Wheatley Road it left Essex County and entered what is now the municipality of Chatham-Kent.

Continuing east, now as Middle Line, the route encountered the communities of Valetta, Stewart and Merlin before curving northeast.

[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.

[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".

[12] This arrangement remained in place until the opening of the Ambassador Bridge on November 15, 1929, which resulted in several modifications to the highway network within Essex County.

[13] 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.

[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.

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.

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).

[44][46] The following table lists the major junctions along Highway 98, as noted by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario.

1926 highway map of Essex County, before the opening of the Ambassador Bridge
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.
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.