The Canalway Trail: Unlock the Adventure/ The Junction Lock

The Canalway Trail: Unlock the Adventure/ The Junction Lock. . , Welcome to the Canalway Trail System, offering hundreds of miles of scenic trails and numerous parks for walking, bicycling, cross country skiing and other recreational activities. The Canalway Trail parallels the New York State Canal System, comprised of four historic waterways: the Erie, the Champlain, the Oswego and the Cayuga-Seneca Canals. The Canal System spans 524 miles across New York State, linking the Hudson River with the Lake Champlain, Lake Ontario, the Finger Lakes, the Niagara River and Lake Erie., Cooperative initiatives between the New York State Canal Corporation, volunteers, local governments, and federal and state agencies have created this great network of trails for public use. When completed, the Canalway Trail will span over 500 miles connecting numerous cities, towns and villages along the Canal System, making it one of the most extensive trail networks in the country., Enjoying the Canalway Trail: Safety Tips , The Canalway Trail is intended to accommodate a variety of users. It is important to extend courtesy to all trail users and respect their rights. In order to avoid conflicts, trail protocol dictates that bicyclists should yield the right-of-way to all trail users and walkers should yield to equestrians. In addition, please observe the following tips for safe trail use: Rules not transcribed, The Junction Lock. Although the barge canal was officially opened in May 1918, the harbor facilities and terminal buildings just south of the Court Street Dam in Rochester were not completed until 1920. The Enlarged Erie Canal through Rochester was kept open until that time to allow access to the new barge canal. Only smaller dimensioned boats of the Enlarged Erie size could be used on this segment., The Court Street Dam raised the level of the barge canal three feet over that of the Enlarged Erie west of Rochester south of Greece. To compensate for the three-foot water level difference, a junction lock was constructed to allow freighters to continue into the city along the Enlarged Erie Canal. The junction lock was completed in 1918 and operated only a few years until 1923., [Right Photo Caption:] , Junction Lock at South Greece. The junction lock the constructed differently than the other locks in the area. Rather than building new walls for the lock, the existing canal banks were used to form the sides of the lock chamber. New concrete walls were constructed at either end to which the lock gates were attached. The tops of these walls are still visible. This photograph was taken June, 1918., [Left Photo Caption:] , Junction of Barge Canal and old Erie Canal West of Rochester. Construction of the Barge Canal and Junction Lock, taken in April 1918., The Three Stages of the Erie Canal. Clinton's Ditch - The original Erie Canal or "Clinton’s Ditch,” as it was called was completed in 1825. The canal prism or trough was only forty feet wide and four feet deep. Although it was indeed little more than a ditch, the Erie Canal had a profound impact on the development of New York State and the nation. , Enlarged Erie - The enormous success of the original Erie Canal led to extensive efforts to widen and straighten it between 1836 and 1862. While large parts of “Clinton’s Ditch” were incorporated into the Enlarged Erie Canal, other portions were abandoned. The Enlarged Erie Canal measured seventy feet across at the top of the prisms and seven feet deep. , Barge Canal In an effort to compete with the railroads the canal was enlarged again in the early part of the twentieth century. Completed in 1918, the new barge canal was able to handle larger self-propelled vessels. Although recreational boaters primarily use it today, the barge canal remains an important waterway route linking the Hudson River and the Great Lakes.