NEW YORK STATE BARGE CANAL SYSTEM con sists of the Erie canal, the Champlain canal, the Oswego canal, the Cayuga-Seneca canal, Black river canal, Cayuga Lake Inlet at Ithaca, the Glens Falls Feeder and the lakes, reservoirs, feeders, harbour basins and terminal docks facilities. The total length of the system is about 575 miles. The Shinnecock-Peconic canal, located in the county of Suffolk on Long Island, connecting the waters of Shinnecock and Peconic bays is also officially a part of the canal system.
The total number of locks on the main channels of the improved canals, exclusive of the U.S. Government lock at Troy, is 56. There are 34 locks on the Erie, 1 r on the Champlain, 7 on the Oswego canal and 4 on the Cayuga and Seneca canal. In addition, there are two junction locks and two guard locks.
Navigation is free and the usual navigation season is seven months from May r to Dec. 1. The canals are available for use 24 hours of the day. Boats about 30o ft. long, 42 ft. wide, with a draft of io ft. and a cargo capacity of 2,800 tons are generally used.
The Erie Barge canal is the main waterway, connecting the Hudson river at Albany and Troy with Lake Erie at Buffalo. It has a total length of 34o m. and serves as the main route of transporting grain from the west to New York. It is 150 ft. wide and 12 ft. in depth. The cost of construction and improvement
was $139,214,929.
The Cayuga and Seneca canal connects Montezuma, N.Y., with the Cayuga and Seneca lakes and affords communication between these lakes and the Erie canal. Including the lakes the length of the canal is 92 m. ; exclusive of the lakes, it is approxi mately 24 miles. It is 200 f t. wide and 12 ft. in depth. The cost of construction was about $8,154,000.
The Black river canal connects Black river and the Erie canal and affords communication between Rome, N.Y., and Lyon Falls, N.Y. Elevation is gained by four locks. It is 35 m. long, 42 ft. wide, 4 ft. in depth. The cost of construction with improvements was The Champlain canal connects Whitehall, N.Y., at the head of Lake Champlain with the Erie canal at Waterford, providing a waterway between the Atlantic seaboard and the navigable St. Lawrence. It is 6o m. long, 125 ft. wide and 12 ft. in depth. The cost of construction was about $21,691,000.
The Oswego canal connects Lake Ontario at Oswego with the Erie canal at Syracuse and provides communication between Syracuse and Oswego, and by the use of the Welland canal, with the other Great Lakes. The cost of construction and improve ment was about $12,000,000.