For Immediate Release:
3/30/18
Contact:
Steven Gosset
| Steven.Gosset@nypa.gov
Media Relations | (914) 390-8192
CANAL CORPORATION BEGINS EMERGENCY EMBANKMENT REPAIRS IN MONROE COUNTY
ALBANY--The New York State Canal Corporation today announced that emergency repairs have begun on two sections of the Erie Canal embankment in Monroe County, in order to stabilize it in time for the start of the 2018 navigation season in May
The projects, in the towns of Ogden and Perinton, are being conducted in close coordination with officials in those municipalities.
It is estimated repairs will be completed in two to four weeks. The navigation season on the western Erie Canal is scheduled to begin May 18.
“Safety and security of the Erie Canal is always our paramount concern,” said Brian U. Stratton, Canal Corporation director. “This is a heavily traveled section of the Canal and we will take all necessary steps to avoid risks for those who travel on the water as well as those who live and work nearby.”
In Ogden, a small number of trees have been removed to gain access to the embankment. However, this project will not require clearing trees and other vegetation from the slope of the embankment itself. No trees will be removed in Perinton.
Repairs will involve placing sheet-piling along the top of the embankment to enhance structural stability during the navigation season to reduce the risk of sudden embankment failure. More extensive repairs will be made following the end of the navigation season in October.
In Perinton, the construction will require the closure of a one-mile section of the Erie Canalway Trail between Route 31F/ Fairport Road and Ayrault Road in Fairport. Users of the trail will be detoured onto Jefferson Avenue and Fairport Road to Fairport Park before rejoining the trail. No trail closures are expected in Ogden.
The structural deficiencies being addressed were revealed during an inspection of the Canal embankment running from Medina in Orleans County to Brighton in Monroe County. The Canal Corporation began a maintenance program in October that involves removing trees and other vegetation at 56 locations covering 145 acres along the embankment, which is an earthen dam that retains water at an elevation above where it would otherwise be to make the Canal possible.
About the New York State Canal Corporation
New York’s canal system includes four historic canals: the Erie, Champlain, Oswego and Cayuga-Seneca. Spanning 524 miles, the waterway links the Hudson River with the Great Lakes, the Finger Lakes and Lake Champlain. The canals form the backbone of the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor and connect hundreds of unique and historic communities. In 2018, New York is celebrating the bicentennial of the start of the Erie Canal’s construction.
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