Editing Erie Canal (section)

===Barge Canal===
[[File:Erie Canal Lift Bridge Lockport July 2010.JPG|thumb|right|Two [[lift bridges]] in [[Lockport, New York]], July 2010]]
[[File:BaldwinsvilleLock24.jpg|thumb|right|<!--max img sz-->The modern Erie Canal has 34 locks, which are painted with the blue and gold colors of the [[New York State Canal System]].]]
{{more citations needed section|date=March 2013}}
In a November 3, 1903 referendum, a majority of New Yorkers authorized an expansion of the canal at a cost of $101,000,000.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fairlie |first=John A. |date=1904 |title=Canal Enlargement in New York State |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1882790 |journal=The Quarterly Journal of Economics |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=286–292 |doi=10.2307/1882790 |jstor=1882790 |issn=0033-5533}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=1903 |title=GREAT MAJORITY FOR CANAL PROJECT; Estimated That It Will Reach Nearly 250,000. Opposition Up State Not Sufficient to Overcome the Heavy Vote in New York, Kings and Erie -- The Vote by Counties. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1903/11/04/archives/great-majority-for-canal-project-estimated-that-it-will-reach.html |work=New York Times}}</ref><ref name="Whiteford">{{Cite book |title=History of the Barge Canal of New York State |last=Whiteford |first=Noble E. |year=1922 |publisher=J. B. Lyon Company |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l-FIAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA14 |access-date=February 7, 2008}}</ref>{{rp|14}}
In 1905, construction of the [[New York State Barge Canal]] began, which was completed in 1918, at a cost of $96.7 million.<ref name="Whiteford" />{{rp|557}}

This new canal replaced much of the original route, leaving many abandoned sections (most notably between Syracuse and Rome). New digging and flood control technologies allowed engineers to [[river engineering|canalize]] rivers that the original canal had sought to avoid, such as the Mohawk, [[Seneca River (New York)|Seneca]], and [[Clyde River (New York)|Clyde]] rivers, and Oneida Lake.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=History of the Mohawk Valley: Gateway to the West 1614-1925 — Chapter 99: History of the New York State Barge Canal. |url=https://www.schenectadyhistory.org/resources/mvgw/history/099.html |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=www.schenectadyhistory.org}}</ref> In sections that did not consist of canalized rivers<ref name="Whiteford" /> (particularly between Rochester and Buffalo), the original Erie Canal channel was enlarged to {{convert|120|ft|m}} wide and {{convert|12|ft|m}} deep. The expansion allowed barges up to {{convert|2000|ST|t}} to use the Canal. The new Barge Canal required boats to be propelled by tugs or other mechanical means, as there was no longer a towpath along the system for animal power to tow barges.<ref>{{Cite book |last=FINCH |first=ROY G. |url=https://history.nycourts.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/finch_history.pdf |title=The Story of the New York State Canals: Historical and Commercial Information |pages=21}}</ref> This expensive expansion project was politically unpopular in parts of the state not served by the canal.<ref name=":1" /> Following the opening of the barge canal, there was a resurgence in use for some industries and commercial shipping along the system peaked in 1951.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stack |first=Debbie |title=The Erie Canal |last2=Marquisee |first2=Ronald S. |date=2001 |publisher=Media Artists Inc |isbn=978-0-9708886-0-0 |series=Cruising America's Waterways |location=Manlius |pages=5}}</ref>