erie canal

Repairing the locks, which allow boats to travel from one neck of the waterway to another, was deemed nonessential work.

The New York Power Authority Board of Trustees has authorized a five year plan for the Reimagine the Canals Initiative.

The federal government said no. But New Yorkers rallied anyway and got the job done.

In the first phase of the program, a $100 million economic development fund will support a variety of projects.

"We’re really looking at what the canal is, what it has been, but what it could be," said New York State Canal Corporation Director Brian Stratton.

"Going along and learning the history, you never realize the extent of it. I didn’t know there was different canals done along the way, I thought it was just the one."

Renovations on the Erie Canal have been causing a rift between some canal side residents and the state's Canal Corporation for about a yearnow.A final set of public meetings will be held Monday & Tuesday ahead of the last phase of the project.