Hints of Comeback for Nation’s First Superhighway

New York Times, ny ^ | Christopher Maag

[Lorianne]

LITTLE FALLS, N.Y. — Most people do not believe that Tim Dufel can push 2,000 tons of steel all the way across New York State. Isn’t the old Erie Canal dried up, they ask him, its locks broken, its ditch filled in and forgotten?

They ask these questions even on days like this one, when Mr. Dufel is standing in an orange life vest, watching brown water flood Lock 16 here and lift his loaded barge like a toy battleship in a bathtub.

“Sixty percent of the people I meet have no idea the Erie Canal is even still functioning,” Mr. Dufel said. He is assistant engineer on the tugboat Margot and an owner of the New York State Marine Highway Transportation Company, one of the largest shippers on the canal.

After decades of decline, commercial shipping has returned to the Erie Canal, though it is a far cry from the canal’s heyday. The number of shipments rose to 42 so far this year during the season the canal is open, from 15 during last year’s season, which lasts from May 1 to Nov. 15.

Once nearly forgotten, the relic of history has shown signs of life as higher fuel prices have made barges an attractive alternative to trucks.

[Lorianne]

[nufsed]

Interesting. Thanx!

[mrmargaritaville]

fine, the Erie Canal is nice and senic, however the neglect from which the Intercoastal Waterway is suffering from right now is down right criminal. If the idea of shipping via the water is going to get popular again there is no equal to the ICW-however it is in very bad shape right now.

[gate2wire]

Was in Little Falls last summer. Pretty country.

[soloNYer]

The canal system is a waste of money from the Thruway Authority. $250 million from the Thruway budget so this guy can float down an artificial river with 42 “shipments?”

Sorry, I do like the canal, but if they have to keep raising tolls for something useless while thousands of people run away from NY’s taxes, I say let it go.

[ctdonath2]

The Thruway tolls were to be lifted when the freeway was finally paid for. Final payment happened a few years ago, and they raised the tolls instead.

I don’t live in NY anymore. That’s one of many reasons.

The Canal was rather nice, though...

[Cicero]

My old friend Alexander Aldrich was State Parks Commissioner under Nelson Rockefeller. I remember he took a powerboat up the Hudson with his family, and through the Erie Canal.

Rockefeller put in money to fix some of that up, although no doubt it’s pretty badly decayed by now. But there was a time back then when they tried to restore the waterways. That was also when they started to clean up the chemical pollution from the rivers for the first time.

I was not a fan of Nelson Rockefeller, but I guess he did a few good things.

[norton]

At a time in history that includes serious discussion of investing tax money in hybrid/alternate/biomass/hydrogen/gyroscopic and black magic means of powering society (not one of which has been shown to be either viable or beneficial to a degree making it worth developing), waterways should be a central part of the "whole package" McCain talks about.

We have three or four known factors: petroleum (drill now, drill ANWAR, build refineries), Nuclear (build new plants), waterways (cheap, available, reduces demand on roadways), and bio-fuels (don't burn what you eat, especially when you lose money doing it).

We also have a large herd of engineers & investors trying to define which alternatives have a chance of cutting into the existing pattern, for less money, for comparable value, and without destroying the positive side of a capitalist republic.

It will require that government be clever enough to improve on 'here' for the ten or so years it takes to get 'there' and to be clever enough to understand that it will take a mix of (almost) all those things far into the future.

Oh, yeah, it'd also help if government had the brass to advise the rest of the world the Kyoto is dead, dead, dead.

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

I believe that the Erie Canal is now officially called the New York State Barge Canal.

[oldsalt]

My uncle,George Billy,was pastor of a Lutheran church in Little Falls,NY back in the 40's and early 50's.The Erie Canal ran right behind the parsonage across from the church.

I have fond memories of hanging out in the backyard watching the barges go by.I also remember stepping in the cow flop in the pasture up the road...Little Falls is still a nice place though.

[pjluke]

I’ve got a mule and her name is Sal...