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Emergency repairs along a section of the Erie Canal

WXXI

The New York State Canal Corporation says that emergency repairs have begun on two sections of the Erie Canal embankment in Monroe County.

The work is being done to stabilize the canal in time for the start of the 2018 boating navigation season in May.  The projects are being done in the towns of Ogden and Perinton, and canal officials say the work is being conducted in close coordination with officials in those municipalities.

In Ogden, a small number of trees have been removed to gain access to the embankment, but canal officials say the 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. 

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. 

It is estimated repairs will be completed in two to four weeks. More extensive repairs will be made following the end of the navigation season in October.

Randy Gorbman is WXXI's director of news and public affairs. Randy manages the day-to-day operations of WXXI News on radio, television, and online.