Enlarged Erie Canal

Enlarged Erie Canal. Schoharie Crossing. Crossing the Schoharie Creek presented a challenge; whenever it flooded, traffic remained at a standstill. Plans were made to build an aqueduct to carry the canal over the creek and thus avoid the problems encountered when the creek was flooding. The aqueduct was built downstream from the original crossing, and a new section of canal dug to meet up with it., The Erie Canal became so successful that it could not accommodate the traffic demands. Because its locks were all single-chambered, boats could only go through each lock one at a time. The State of New York began to enlarge the Erie Canal in the mid-1830s. The boat channel was widened to 70 feet and deepened to 7 feet. The 83 single locks were replaced by 72 double locks. Two lock chambers, each measuring 110 feet long by 18 feet wide, were built right next to one another to allow both eastbound and westbound boats to lock-through at the same time.