For Immediate Release: June 29, 2005
CANAL CORPORATION ANNOUNCES COMPLETION OF $10.7 MILLION ERIE CANAL LOCK 33 REHABILITATION PROJECT
The New York State Canal Corporation today announced that a two-year $10 million rehabilitation project at Erie Canal Lock 33 (Rochester) has been completed.
“This is a win-win for the Canal Corporation, Henrietta, Brighton, the City of Rochester, and historic preservation and tourism advocates,” said Director of the New York State Canal Corporation Carmella R. Mantello. “Refurbishing and restoring our historic lock structures and enhancing the park experience of our Canal lands will help us maximize the potential of the Canal System as a transportation, tourism, recreation and economic resource that not only benefits the State and the users, but also the adjacent communities.”
The rehabilitation included repairs to the lock chamber walls using 23,500 square feet of new pre-cast concrete panels, and the existing valve wells and machinery pits were repaired with 2,400 cubic yards of cast-in-place concrete.
The existing machinery including electrical motors, much of which dates back to the original 1918 construction, was refurbished and reinstalled; new wiring and underground conduit were installed. In addition, two new 18-feet-high canal lock gates weighing 25 tons each were installed at the upper end (Genesee River Side) of the lock and two new 40-feet-high 50 ton gates were installed at the lower end of the lock.
The existing buildings at the lock were also refurbished to restore them to their original 1918 condition. The most impressive building is the existing power house which used to generate power for Locks 32 and 33, Pittsford and Rochester respectively. In addition to a new clay tile roof, the newly painted power house also received new windows and a new door made to replicate original concept specifications. A new masonry storage building was constructed to replace several small storage sheds that had been added since the original construction.
The grounds around the lock have been landscaped with new plantings, picnic tables, charcoal grills and a three-rail wood fence. The Canalway Trail near the lock was also reconstructed and widened to separate trail users from lock maintenance activities.
The Contractor, Coldspring Construction Company of Akron, New York, completed the project during the 2003/2004 and 2004/2005 non-navigation seasons.
The New York State Canal System is comprised of four historic waterways, the Erie, the Champlain, the Oswego and the Cayuga-Seneca Canals. Spanning 524 miles across New York State, the waterway links the Hudson River, Lake Champlain, Lake Ontario, the Finger Lakes and the Niagara River with communities rich in history and culture.
In late May 2005, Governor Pataki unveiled his vision for establishing the Erie Canal Greenway and, ultimately, the Empire State Greenway, connecting the Niagara, Erie and Hudson River Greenways. The Canal Corporation and an interagency task force will conduct an outreach campaign to gather input and ideas and develop a comprehensive set of recommendations to create the new Erie and Empire State Greenways and examine certain roles and responsibilities currently assigned to the Canal Corporation. The recommendations will be delivered in a report to the Governor by December 2005.
For more information about NYS Canals, please call 1-800-4CANAL4 or visit www.canals.state.ny.us.