New York State Canal System

New York State Canal System
Location	Upstate New York
Country	United States
Specifications
Length	525 miles (845 km)
Lock length	328 ft (100 m)
Lock width	45 ft (14 m)
Maximum boat draft	12 ft (3.7 m)
Status	Open
Navigation authority	New York State Canal Corporation
Geography
Branch(es)	Erie Canal, Champlain Canal, Oswego Canal, Cayuga–Seneca Canal
New York State Barge Canal
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark District
Lock 30 at Macedon, 2006
Location	17 counties in upstate New York
Area	36.7 square miles (95 km2)
Built	1905–63
Architect	New York State Engineer's and Surveyor's Office: Edward Bond Austin, Frank Martin Williams, David Alexander Watt, A.A. Conger, William R. Davis
NRHP reference No.	14000860[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	October 15, 2014
Designated NHLD	December 23, 2016
Route map Legend Richelieu River to St. Lawrence Seaway Canada United States Lake Champlain Vermont New York C12 Whitehall C11 Comstock C9 Smiths Basin C8 Town of Fort Edward C7 Village of Fort Edward Hudson River Crockers Reef Guard Gate C6 Fort Miller C5 Northumberland C4 Stillwater C3 Mechanicville C2 Halfmoon C1 Waterford Champlain Canal Erie Canal Troy Federal Lock Hudson River to New York Bay E2 Waterford E3 Waterford E4 Waterford E5 Waterford E6 Crescent GG1 Crescent GG2 Crescent E7 Vischer Ferry E8 Scotia E9 Rotterdam E10 Cranesville E11 Amsterdam E12 Tribes Hill E13 Yosts E14 Canajoharie E15 Fort Plain E16 St. Johnsville GG3 Indian Castle E17 Little Falls GG4 Little Falls E18 Jacksonburg GG5 Herkimer E19 Frankfort E20 Whitesboro GG6 Rome GG7 Rome E21 New London E22 New London Oneida Lake E23 Brewton St. Lawrence Seaway to Gulf of St. Lawrence Rideau Canal to Ottawa River Trent–Severn Waterway to Georgian Bay Welland Canal to Lake Erie Canada United States Lake Ontario O8 Oswego O7 Oswego O6 Oswego O5 Minetto O3 Fulton O2 Fulton O1 Phoenix Oswego Canal Onondaga Lake E24 Baldwinsville Cross Lake Cayuga–Seneca Canal CS1 Cayuga Cayuga Lake CS2 CS3 Seneca Falls CS4 Waterloo Seneca Lake E25 Mays Point E26 Clyde E27 Lyons E28A Lyons E28B Newark E29 Palmyra E30 Macedon GG9 Bushnell's Basin GG10 Cartersville E32 Pittsford E33 Rochester East Guard Lock Genesee River West Guard Lock GG11 Spencerport GG12 Brockport GG13 Holley GG14 Albion GG15 Medina GG16 Middleport GG17 Gasport E34 Lockport E35 Lockport GG18 Pendleton Niagara River United States Canada Black Rock Channel Black Rock Lock Lake Erie Welland Canal to Lake Ontario Detroit River to Lake St. Clair GG = Guard Gate This diagram: view talk edit

The New York State Canal System (formerly known as the New York State Barge Canal) is a successor to the Erie Canal and other canals within New York. The 525-mile (845 km) system is composed of the Erie Canal, the Oswego Canal, the Cayuga–Seneca Canal, and the Champlain Canal.^[2] In 2014 the entire system was listed as a national historic district on the National Register of Historic Places,^[1] and in 2016 it was designated a National Historic Landmark.^[3]

The Erie Canal connects the Hudson River to Lake Erie; the Cayuga–Seneca Canal connects Seneca Lake and Cayuga Lake to the Erie Canal; the Oswego Canal connects the Erie Canal to Lake Ontario; and the Champlain Canal connects the Hudson River to Lake Champlain.

History[edit]

In 1903 New York State legislature authorized construction of the "New York State Barge Canal" as the "improvement of the Erie, the Oswego, the Champlain and the Cayuga and Seneca Canals".^[4] In 1905, construction of the Barge Canal began; it was completed in 1918, at a cost of $96.7 million.^[5] It opened to through traffic May 15, 1918.^[6] The Barge Canal's new route took advantage of rivers (such as the Mohawk River, Oswego River, Seneca River, Genesee River and Clyde River) that the original Erie Canal builders had avoided, thus bypassing some major cities formerly on the route, such as Syracuse and Rochester. However, particularly in western New York State, the canal system uses the same (enlarged) channel as the original Erie Canal. In 1924 the Barge Canal built the Gowanus Bay Terminal in Brooklyn to handle canal cargo.^[7][8]

Since the 1970s, the state has ceased modernizing the system due to the shift to truck transport. The canal is preserved primarily for historical and recreational purposes. Today, very few commercial vessels use the canal; it is mainly used by private pleasure boats, although it also serves as a method of controlling floods. The last regularly scheduled commercial ship operating on the canal was the Day Peckinpaugh, which ceased operation in 1994.^[9]

Since 1992, the Barge Canal is no longer known by that name. Individual canals in the New York State Canal System, formerly collectively known as "the Barge Canal," are now referred to by their original names (Erie Canal, Oswego Canal, Cayuga–Seneca Canal, and Champlain Canal). Today, the system's canals are 12 feet (3.7 m) deep and 120 feet (37 m) wide, with 57 electrically operated locks, and can accommodate vessels up to 2,000 tons (1,800 metric tons). The canal system is open for navigation generally from May 1 through November 15. Payment of a fee for a permit is required to traverse the locks and lift bridges with motorized craft.^[10]

In 2004, the New York State Canal Corporation reported a total of 122,034 recreational lockings on the canal, along with 8,514 tour boat lockings and 7,369 hire boat lockings, and a total of 12,182 tons of cargo valued at approximately $102 million was shipped on the canal system.

In 2012, the system's annual cargo volume reached 42,000 tons.^[11]

Travel on the Canal's middle section (particularly in the Mohawk River valley) was severely hampered during destructive flooding in Upstate New York in late June and early July 2006. Flood damage to the canal system and its facilities was estimated to be at least $15 million.

In 2011, newly elected Governor Andrew Cuomo appointed Schenectady Mayor Brian Stratton as director of the Canal Corporation, which runs the Canal System.

At the end of August 2011 Tropical Storm Irene caused closure of almost the entire canal due to flooding.^[12] At the beginning of September 2011, Tropical Storm Lee added more flooding to the system. Damage to several locks was severe enough to close the canal from Lock 8 (Scotia) through Lock 17 (Little Falls) from late August.^[13] The canal was fully open for the start of the 2012 navigation season.^[14]

Over 200,000 tons of cargo was expected for 2017, the largest shipping volume since 1993.^[15]

Funding and maintenance[edit]

The New York State Canal Corporation is responsible for the oversight, administration and maintenance of the New York State Canal System.^[2] In 2012, the Canal Corp., then a subsidiary of the New York State Thruway Authority, employed 529 people, consisting of 458 full-time employees and 78 seasonal workers. Its spending accounted for about 10 percent of the Thruway Authority's total $1.1 billion in annual spending. In 2012, the Canal Corp.'s operating budget was $55.7 million and its capital budget was $51.4 million.^[16]

An August 2012 report by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said the canal system "contributed to the deterioration of the Authority's financial condition over the past decade", even as canal traffic had dropped nearly one-third since the period immediately before the Thruway Authority assumed control.^[17]

Effective January 1, 2017, the New York State Canal Corporation became a subsidiary of the New York Power Authority. The move was authorized in April 2016 through the state budget process.^[18] Its headquarters then moved from the Thruway Authority's offices to 30 S. Pearl St., Albany, the New York Power Authority's regional offices.^[19]

See also[edit]

• List of canals in New York
• List of National Historic Landmarks in New York
• List of navigation authorities in the United States
• National Register of Historic Places in New York

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to New York State Canal System.

Wikisource has the text of the 1921 Collier's Encyclopedia article New York Barge Canal.

• Informational and Boater's Guide to the New York State Canals
• New York State Canal System
• 10/3/1908;Construction of the New York State Barge canal
• Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. NY-154, "New York Barge Canal, Gowanus Bay Terminal Pier, East of bulkhead supporting Columbia Street, Brooklyn, Kings County, NY", 29 photos, 39 data pages, 3 photo caption pages
• HAER No. NY-371, "New York State Barge Canal, Lock E2, South of the intersection of Broad and Fifth streets, Waterford, Saratoga County, NY", 1 photo, 1 photo caption page