FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 15, 2005
180th CONSECUTIVE CANAL SEASON COMES TO A CLOSE
Aggressive Winter Work Schedule Set to Begin
Carmella R. Mantello, Director of the New York State Canal Corporation, today announced the official closing of the 180th consecutive navigation season on the New York State Canal System. This year’s navigation season of 199 days began May 1, and officially concludes today at 5:00 p.m.
Mantello was joined by Canal Corporation employees and local officials at Lock 1 in Halfmoon on the Champlain Canal.
“For 180 years this Canal System has helped connect our cities and made us the great Empire State we are today,” Mantello said. “This important milestone helps us recognize the enduring quality of a waterway with utilitarian roots, but which has inspired and enchanted people from all over the world for generations. We have much work to do over the winter, but we are already looking forward to next year’s season and a host of exciting new initiatives.”
During the winter months, Canal Corporation employees repair the buoys and other equipment retrieved from the waterway in the fall. In addition, century-old equipment used to operate the 57 locks and 16 lift bridges, along with dozens of water control structures across the Canal System, are repaired and rehabilitated. Engines used to power the tugboats, dredges, floating derricks, and other craft in the Canal Corporation fleet are disassembled and serviced, and essential infrastructure is shored up and replaced. Certain locks throughout the State are completely pumped out to allow maintenance forces to inspect and repair portions of the lock normally underwater. All this work must be accomplished in four short months so that in April, Canal forces can begin re-watering the Canal and replacing buoys and other vital equipment in anticipation of a May 1 opening.
The majority of the Canal saw a slight upswing in summer traffic during 2005 with a 6.9 percent increase in recreational lockings from May to August, compared to the same period in 2004. Final traffic numbers for the 2005 season will not be available until mid-December.
Throughout the summer of 2005, Mantello traveled across the Canal System on a “Canal Connections” tour, meeting with more than 2,000 State and local officials, canal enthusiasts, and business owners. Ten regional meetings were held along the Canal System starting July 27, in Canajoharie and concluded with a final stop in Ithaca on October 28. The tour was a major component of the Canal Corporation Interagency Task Force’s extensive public outreach effort to gather input and ideas regarding the future of the Corporation and Governor George Pataki’s vision for creating an Erie Canal, and eventually, an Empire State Greenway.
Information collected on the Tour, through the Erie Canal Greenway feedback web address and in Director Mantello’s conversations will be used in developing recommendations for creating the new Greenways. The Task Force will submit recommendations to Governor Pataki, the State Legislature and the Canal Corporation Board in December. The report will be used by the Governor to draft legislation to establish the Erie Canal Greenway next year.
“We are excited about what’s happening along the Canal System, and look forward to continuing to work closely with the Canal Corporation on the concept of an Erie Canal Greenway,” Town of Halfmoon Supervisor Ken DeCerce, said. “The Canal is one of our most precious resources, and we owe it to the people of New York to make it the best resource possible.”
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.
For more information about news and events along the New York State Canal System, please call 1-800-4CANAL4 or visit www.canals.state.ny.us.
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