Essex County Road 20
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King's Highway18, commonly referred to as Highway18, was a provincially maintained highway in the
Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...
of
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, located entirely within Essex County. Since 1998, the majority of the former route has been known as Essex County Road20. The route travelled at the southernmost point in Canada, along or near the shoreline of the
Detroit River The Detroit River flows west and south for from Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie as a strait in the Great Lakes system. The river divides the metropolitan areas of Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario, Windsor, Ontario—an area collectively refe ...
and
Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...
between
Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...
and Leamington, with Highway 3 as the terminus at both ends. The former route provides access to the communities of LaSalle,
Amherstburg Amherstburg is a town near the mouth of the Detroit River in Essex County, Ontario, Canada. In 1796, Fort Malden was established here, stimulating growth in the settlement. The fort has been designated as a National Historic Site. The town is ...
,
Malden Centre Malden may refer to: Places United Kingdom *Old Malden, historically known as Malden, Kingston upon Thames, England *Malden Rushett, Kingston upon Thames, England *New Malden, Kingston upon Thames, England United States * Malden, Illinois *Malden, ...
, Harrow, Kingsville and
Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...
. The original alignment of Highway18 followed a completely different routing for the first 18months of its existence than it would for the following 50years. As it was first designated in 1930, Highway18 provided a shortcut between Windsor and Tilbury. By early 1932, this route was renumbered as Highway 2, and a new highway between Windsor and Leamington via Amherstburg designated as Highway18. Expansion of the highway to four lanes between Windsor and Amherstburg was first proposed in the mid-1960s, but not undertaken until the mid-1980s. In the mid-1990s, the route was determined to no longer be of provincial significance and was transferred—or downloaded—to the municipalities and township that it lay within. On April1, 1997, Highway18 was downloaded through LaSalle, as well between Union and Leamington; it was temporarily rerouted to end at Highway3 in Ruthven. On January1, 1998, the entire route was transferred to Essex County.


Route description

Highway18 was an route that travelled along or near the shoreline of the Detroit River and Lake Erie between Windsor and Leamington in
Southwestern Ontario Southwestern Ontario is a secondary region of Southern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It occupies most of the Ontario Peninsula bounded by Lake Huron, including Georgian Bay, to the north and northwest; the St. Clair River, Lake St. ...
. In addition to its provincial designation, it also carried the
Heritage Highway This is a List of Ontario Tourist Routes throughout the province, which are designated to highlight places of cultural, environmental, or social importance. It is currently unknown if the majority of these trails are still listed since many of the ...
designation for its entire length, the
African-Canadian Heritage Tour This is a List of Ontario Tourist Routes throughout the province, which are designated to highlight places of cultural, environmental, or social importance. It is currently unknown if the majority of these trails are still listed since many of the ...
from Windsor south to Essex County Road10 (Middle Side Road), and the Great Sauk Trail between Windsor and Amherstburg. Today it is mostly known as Essex County Road20; it is four-lanes from Windsor to Amherstburg, and generally two lanes for the remainder of its routing. As it existed prior to 1997, Highway18 was maintained by the
Ministry of Transportation A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government ag ...
(MTO) outside of the city of Windsor; the city was responsible for the portion within its boundaries, which the route encounters at Morton Drive. In addition, portions of the route through Amherstburg, Harrow, Kingsville and Leamington were maintained under
Connecting Link The Connecting Link program is a provincial subsidy provided to municipalities to assist with road construction, maintenance and repairs in the Canadian province of Ontario. Roads which are designated as ''connecting links'' form the portions of ...
agreements. It began at Huron Church Road in Windsor and followed the E.C. Row Expressway west. The expressway ended as it curved south at
Ojibway Parkway King's Highway18, commonly referred to as Highway18, was a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario, located entirely within Essex County. Since 1998, the majority of the former route has been known as Essex County ...
, with Highway18 taking on that name thereafter. Ojibway Parkway, a divided four lane
limited-access road A limited-access road, known by various terms worldwide, including limited-access highway, dual-carriageway, expressway, limited access freeway, and partial controlled access highway, is a highway or arterial road for high-speed traffic which ...
, ends at the Windsor city limits at Morton Drive. The former route follows Front Road into the town of LaSalle, where it shifts west and crosses Turkey Creek. Front Road travels near the shoreline of the Detroit River through LaSalle, with riverfront properties lining the western side of the road. Across the river are the southern suburbs of
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
,
Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
. South of LaSalle, the former route of Highway18 enters the city of Amherstburg at Essex County Road3 (Malden Road). It makes several sweeping curves and crosses the mouth of the
River Canard River Canard is a hamlet of roughly 500 people in the northern part of Amherstburg, Ontario and the southern part of Lasalle, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Canard River and is approximately 12 miles south of Windsor, Ontario. It is home to ...
, which is the southernmost river in Canada. After passing through the centre of Amherstburg, where Highway18 was maintained under a Connecting Link agreement between Brunner Avenue and Lowes Side Road, the route follows the shores of the Detroit River once more before curving east inland. It crosses Big Creek twice, with Knapps Island lying in the middle, before encountering the village of Malden Centre. Essex County Road50, which formed Highway 18A until 1978, loops south from Malden Centre to
Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...
before meeting Highway18 again on the west side of Kingsville. Now several kilometres inland from Lake Erie, the former route of Highway18 travels through farmland, making a brief jog south before returning to a straight eastward route into the municipality of
Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
and the community of Harrow. Within Harrow, the former route is named King Street, and was maintained under a Connecting Link agreement between Roseborough Road and Herdman Street. Continuing east, it passes Cedar Creek Conservation Area and crosses Cedar Creek at Essex County Road23 (Arner Townline), which serves as the boundary between Essex and Kingsville. Entering the urban boundary of Kingsville, it meets the eastern terminus of Essex County Road50 (Heritage Road). Highway18 was maintained under a Connecting Link agreement in Kingsville between Fox Lane and the
Chrysler Canada Greenway The Chrysler Canada Greenway is a 42 km-long rail trail in Essex County, Ontario, Canada, stretching from Oldcastle, Ontario, Oldcastle (near Windsor, Ontario, Windsor) to Leamington, Ontario, Leamington. History The trail dates back to ...
, a
rail trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...
along a former branch of the
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P. Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Richmond t ...
. East of Kingsville, the former route of Highway18 travels parallel to and north of Lake Erie, providing access to lakeside properties. Several greenhouses are located nearby, a small percentage of the over of land occupied by them in the Leamington area. At the hamlet of Union, Highway18 turned north to end at Highway3 in Ruthven. However, this routing was only in place between April and December 1997. Prior to then, it entered Leamington at Albuna Townline, travelling along Seacliff Drive West to Erie Street, where it turned north. The highway ended at the intersection of Talbot Street (Highway3) and Erie Street in downtown Leamington, from which Highway77 continued north to
Comber Comber ( , , locally ) is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies south of Newtownards, at the northern end of Strangford Lough. It is situated in the townland of Town Parks, the civil parish of Comber and the historic barony of Cast ...
. The portion of the route from Forest Avenue and Seacliff Drive to Talbot Street was maintained under a Connecting Link agreement.


History


Windsor–Tilbury

The original alignment of Highway18 followed a completely different routing for the first 18months of its existence than it would for the following 50years. As it was first designated in 1930, Highway18 provided a shortcut between Windsor and Tilbury. In anticipation of the opening of the Ambassador Bridge, as well as the nearby
Detroit–Windsor tunnel The Detroit–Windsor tunnel (french: tunnel de Détroit-Windsor), also known as the Detroit–Canada tunnel, is an international highway tunnel connecting the cities of Detroit, Michigan, United States and Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It is the ...
, 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 The Michigan Central Railroad (reporting mark MC) was originally incorporated in 1846 to establish rail service between Detroit, Michigan, and St. Joseph, Michigan. The railroad later operated in the states of Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois in ...
(MCR) beginning in early 1929. The province chose to designate a new
right-of-way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...
adjacent to and north of the MCR in July of that year, and spent the next several months constructing the cut-off (now known as Provincial Road) from Howard Avenue to north of
Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...
. By 1930, Highway2 had been rerouted to begin at the ferry docks in downtown Windsor, following Ouellette Avenue to Tecumseh Road, then east to and south along Howard Avenue; the short segment near Maidstone became Highway2A. Meanwhile, the province set out to build a third highway into Windsor. Essex County had designated County Road19 along Cabana Road (now Division Road) and Baseline Road to Tilbury on April19, 1928, and soon thereafter the DPHO promised to take it over as a new provincial highway. Highway18 was officially designated on June11, 1930 along the route. Several changes were made to the provincial highway system in Essex County in February 1932. Since the route of Highway18 was shorter than the route of Highway2 between Windsor and Tilbury, the newly renamed Department of Highways (DHO) renumbered Highway18 as Highway2, while the old route of Highway2 became Highway2A. At the same time, the Highway18 designation was applied along a new provincial highway between Windsor and Leamington.


Windsor–Leamington

On November17, 1931, Minister of Highways
Leopold Macaulay Leopold Macaulay (November 25, 1887 – December 24, 1979) was a Canadian politician and lawyer, born in Peterborough, Ontario. Macaulay was a Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. He was first elected as Member of the ...
announced that the province would take over the Front Road and Essex County Road2 between Windsor and Leamington following calls by towns in southern Essex County. This took place one month later on December16. Within Windsor, the new highway began at the intersection of
Ouellette Avenue Ouellette Avenue (most commonly pronounced Oh-Let, pronounced by French-speakers as 'Wellette') is one of the main North-South Roads in Windsor, Ontario, and acts as its Main Street. The road diverges from Dougall Avenue south of Downtown Win ...
and Riverside Drive. From there it travelled west along Riverside Drive, Sandwich Street, and what is now the Ojibway Parkway. Several sections of the new highway were paved when the province took them over. The Front Road was paved between Windsor and Amherstburg by 1924, King Street in Harrow was paved between 1910 and 1912, and Seacliff Drive between Kingsville and Leamington was paved in 1925. The remainder of the route between Amherstburg and Kingsville, outside of Harrow, was unimproved. Along with the new Highway18 designation, which was applied in February 1932, the DHO undertook reconstruction of the unimproved portions of the route as a depression-relief project. As part of this work, several jogs were straightened and a new bridge constructed over Big Creek, bypassing the old route between Amherstburg and Malden Centre along what is now Meloche Road and Creek Road. Two sweeping curves were also built between Malden Centre and Harrow, and all unpaved sections were graded and gravel surfaced. Reconstruction of Highway18 was completed and the route fully opened to traffic by September30, 1932. Paving of the gravel sections of Highway18 began in 1934. By the end of the year, the route had been paved between Amherstburg and Malden Centre, as well as between Harrow and Kingsville. The final gap of gravel between Malden Centre and Harrow was paved in 1936, and a new wooden bridge built over the River Canard along the right-of-way of the Sandwich, Windsor and Amherstburg Electric Railway. The route of Highway18 through Amherstburg originally followed Sandwich Street, Richmond Street and Dalhousie Street. Narrow streets and sharp turns resulted in frequent accidents, especially at the S-curve south of Park Street. Although this problem was recognised shortly after the highway was established, work to remedy it did not begin until 1958, when construction began on the Amherstburg diversion. On July25, 1958, the DHO assumed the route of the future diversion, which was completed and opened to traffic on July28, 1959; the former route via Richmond Street and Dalhousie Street was subsequently renumbered as Highway18B.


Expansions and downloading

When Highway18 was established, the entire route was two lanes wide. Twinning of what is today known as the Ojibway Parkway took place in the late 1930s and was one of the earliest examples of a
divided highway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...
in Ontario. The divided portion began at Sandwich Street and ended at an intersection on the north side of the Turkey Creek bridge. This section of Highway18 was known as Main Street or the Seven Mile Road until it was renamed as the Ojibway Parkway at the beginning of 1973. The remainder of the route between Amherstburg and the Turkey Creek bridge was gradually widened over the course of 25years. Beginning in June 1965, following several years of deferrals, the two lane Turkey Creek bridge was widened as part of work to expand Front Road to four lanes as far south as Gary Avenue. The new four lane bridge was opened officially on September17, 1966. That year, the Southwestern Ontario Highway Planning Study was released, which recommended numerous changes to the highway network in Essex County. Among them was four-laning Highway18 between Amherstburg and Windsor. On September15 1970, the River Canard bridge experienced a structural failure and was taken out of service. It was replaced by a temporary
bailey bridge A Bailey bridge is a type of portable, pre-fabricated, truss bridge. It was developed in 1940–1941 by the British for military use during the Second World War and saw extensive use by British, Canadian and American military engineering units. A ...
that opened in January 1971. Planning for a replacement bridge to accommodate the widening of Highway18 to four lanes had been underway since the early 1960s. Amherstburg council requested the new bridge have a clearance, compared with the clearance of the old bridge. The DHO refused, insisting a clearance would be adequate. In August 1972, after two years of discussions, the higher clearance was approved. Work on the new bridge and of approaches began in May 1973. It was opened to traffic in February 1974, and the bailey bridge subsequently disassembled. As part of the work, Highway18 was widened to four lanes from south of the bridge to north of it. Planning to remove the dangerous two lane Brunner Mond bridge in Amherstburg, the site of numerous accidents, was underway by the 1970s. The bridge crossed a
Penn Central Railroad The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American Railroad classes, class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania Railroad ...
track midway between Texas Road and Brunner Avenue, and formed a major hurdle in the proposal to four lane Highway18 between Amherstburg and LaSalle. On March1, 1976, Minister of Transportation
James Snow James Wilfred Snow (July 12, 1929 – September 13, 2008) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1967 to 1985 who represented the GTA ridings of Halton ...
officially announced that the rebuilt highway would be four lanes wide. Work on the crossing began on July11, 1977 and was completed by the end of the year. Meanwhile in Windsor, construction of the E.C. Row Expressway was underway. Built to provide a ring road around Windsor, the expressway was opened as a two lane road between Ojibway Parkway and Huron Church Road on June9, 1983. Starting with the 1982 Ontario Road Map, Highway18 is shown as following the still-unopened E.C. Row Expressway to Huron Church Road. Construction to widen the west end of the E.C. Row Expressway to four lanes began in October 1989 and was completed in September, 1990. Widening of of Highway18 between Amherstburg and the River Canard bridge began on July23, 1985, at a ground-breaking ceremony attended by Minister of Transportation
Ed Fulton Edward A. "Ed" Fulton (born March 19, 1938), is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1985 to 1990 who represented the eastern Toronto riding of Scarborough East. He served ...
. Fulton personally intervened to ensure that the oft-deferred project be built. Construction to widen of the route from north of the River Canard bridge to south of the Turkey Creek bridge in LaSalle began in the spring of 1987. As part of a series of budget cuts initiated by premier
Mike Harris Michael Deane Harris (born January 23, 1945) is a Canadian retired politician who served as the 22nd premier of Ontario from 1995 to 2002 and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC Party) from 1990 to 2002. During his time ...
under his
Common Sense Revolution The phrase Common Sense Revolution (CSR) has been used as a political slogan to describe conservative platforms with a main goal of reducing taxes while balancing the budget by reducing the size and role of government. It has been used in places ...
platform in 1995, numerous highways deemed to no longer be of significance to the provincial network were decommissioned and responsibility for the routes transferred to a lower level of government, a process referred to as
downloading In computer networks, download means to ''receive'' data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar system. This contrasts with uploading, where data is ''sent to'' a remote ...
. Highway18 was downloaded east of Essex County Road45 (Union Avenue, former Highway 107), a distance of , on April1, 1997. The portion of the route through LaSalle was transferred to that town on the same day. Essex County Road45 (Union Avenue) was assumed in order to establish a logical eastern terminus for the route at Highway3 in Ruthven. On January1, 1998, the remainder of Highway18 was downloaded and transferred to Essex County. Since 1998, the former route of Highway18 has been known as Essex County Road20.


Suffixed routes


Highway 18A

Highway 18A was a route that began and ended at Highway18, travelling along the
Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...
shoreline and through
Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...
. It was the southernmost highway to ever exist in Canada, as the only one to travel south of the 42nd parallel. Highway18A was assumed as a provincial highway on April13, 1938. It was transferred to Essex County on January1, 1978, and has since been known as Essex County Road50.


Highway 18B (Ruthven)

Highway18B was a short stub serving to connect Highway 18 with Highway 3 west of Leamington. It was assumed by the DHO on August25, 1937. While initially gravel-surfaced, the highway was paved in 1944. Highway 18B was renumbered as Highway107 in 1952. Highway18 would briefly follow this route between April 1997 and January 1998.


Highway 18B (Amherstburg)

A second Highway18B existed through downtown Amherstburg in the 1960s, following the original route of Highway18 along Richmond Street and Dalhousie Street.


Major intersections


See also

*
Ontario Highway 98 King's Highway 98, commonly referred to as Highway 98, was a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario, designated as part of the provincial highway system between 1939 to 1971. The route travelled through the northern p ...
*
List of numbered roads in Essex County The numbered roads in Essex County account for of roads in the Canadian province of Ontario. These roads include King's Highways that are signed and maintained by the province, as well as county roads under the jurisdiction of the Essex County xx ...


References

{{Roads in Windsor, Ontario County roads in Essex County, Ontario
018 018 may refer to *Air Canada Flight 018, an airline flight from Hong Kong to Vancouver, Canada, illegally boarded by a Chinese man wearing a disguise in 2010 *Area code 018, a telephone area code in Uppsala, Sweden *BMW 018, an experimental turboje ...
Leamington, Ontario