The Erie Canal is closed at Lock 17, in Little Falls, New York (between Albany and Utica), because the door is stuck. Canal officials bought in huge cranes from Pennsylvania to work on the lifting mechanism that operates the lower lock gate.
The lift-mechanism on the guillotine-style door on Lock 17 is broken. Apparently the cranes will be used to deal with the counterweight.
In a Notice to Mariners, the New York State Canal Corporation said “the full repair is expected to take an extended period as mechanical parts, specific to this historic infrastructure, must be designed and custom fabricated.”
The Corporation also said that it is “developing a plan that would allow limited navigation through the lock on a scheduled basis as soon as later this week.”
Meanwhile, recreational boats are backed up for many miles. Some tied up to a wall by Lock 16, others are triple rafted at the St. Johnsville Municipal Marina.
The closure will disrupt plans for many boats getting an early start on the Great Loop this year, or anyone else cruising in the area. You can check on when the lock may reopen at the canal’s official website, canals.ny.gov.
The Erie Canal, first opened in 1825, runs 363 miles from Albany, on the Hudson, to the Niagara River near Buffalo, on Lake Erie. Cruisers can take a cutoff, the Oswego Canal, to get to Lake Ontario. The problem there is that the Canadian border is closed, although some U.S. cruisers have been able to transit the Welland Canal, connecting Lake Ontario and Lake Erie (in Canada), by hiring a Canadian captain.
Farther west, the Erie Canal is closed for maintenance and construction between Spencerport and Holly. This closure is west of the Oswego Canal, and involves a 14-mile stretch of the Erie Canal. It may reopen the first week in June. Read more:
