The New York State Canal Corporation just announced the schedule for reopening the locks on the historic – and much-travelled – Erie Canal and the system’s other canals in the state. The corporation said it planned to have most of the locks open by July 4, but some may not be open until much later.
On its website, the corporation said, “Maintenance work that needs to be completed at specific canal facilities varies by location, and locks along the Erie, Champlain, Oswego and Cayuga-Seneca Canals will open for passage on a staggered fashion.”
The locks had been scheduled to open on May 15, but maintenance and repair work was stopped a month earlier due to the COVAID-19 pandemic and shutdown. That work included seven locks on the Erie Canal and one on the Champlain Canal.
Dating to 1825, the 363-mile-long Erie Canal is important for anyone cruising the Great Loop or the inland sections of the Northeast. It runs from Albany on the Hudson to Buffalo on Lake Erie. The Champlain Canal runs from just north of Albany to Lake Champlain, and is a direct route to Canada and the St. Lawrence.
Here’s the tentative reopening schedule:
Targeted to open by July 4: Erie Canal from Lock 2 to Lock 6. From Oneida Lake to Lock 34/35 in Lockport through Tonawanda (except for Lock 26, scheduled for July 13). Champlain Canal: Locks 1 through 11.
Erie Canal Lock 10, between July 4 and Aug. 10. Locks 7, 8, 9, between July 20 and Aug. 10.
Champlain Canal, Lock 12, by Aug. 10.
You can see announcements about specific lock openings through the Canal Corporation’s Notices to Mariners at: www.canals.ny.gov. Read more:
