The numbered roads in Essex County account for 1,503 lane kilometres (933.9 mi) of roads in the Canadian province of Ontario. These roads[note 1] include King's Highways that are signed and maintained by the province, as well as county roads under the jurisdiction of the Essex County xxx. The third type of existing roadway in the county is locally maintained municipal roads, many of which are concession roads and sidelines; these are beyond the scope of this article.
Odd-numbered roads are generally north–south, with numbers increasing from west to east; even-numbered roads are generally east–west roads, with numbers increasing from north to south, with some exceptions. County roads are not signed within the city limits of Windsor. There are also several unrelated roads named "Malden Road". In 2002, the City of Windsor and the Town of Tecumseh swapped land with each other. Windsor gained land west of Banwell Road, including Windsor International Airport and Tecumseh Mall. Portions of several county roads within the land given to Windsor lost their designation as a result of this exchange.
The 43 numbered routes provide year-round access to the rural areas of the county, with roads within Windsor under a separate authority. The longest road in Essex County is County Road 20, which stretches 76.0 kilometres (47.2 mi) between Windsor and Leamington via the shoreline of the Detroit River and Lake Erie.
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