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New phase of embankment maintenance begins along the Erie Canal

The Erie Canal and the Marsh Road Bridge at Bushnell's Basin in Monroe County.
WXXI photo
The Erie Canal and the Marsh Road Bridge at Bushnell's Basin in Monroe County.

The New York State Canal Corporation says it has begun work on the latest phase of a program regarding maintenance along the embankment of the canal in Monroe and Orleans counties.

This is a followup to work that included cutting some trees along the embankment, which canal officials have said was necessary to provide the safety and stability of the embankment. But the way the clear cutting looked in some of those areas prompted controversy and legal action by some towns that halted that work.

John Callaghan is the executive deputy director for the Canal Corporation.  He says this latest work is being done along the canal between Medina  and Brockport, and it is generally cleanup work to complete the earlier removal of vegetation.

“We’re not moving to new areas and taking down new trees. What we are (doing) is going back and doing a second phase, if you will, for the work that had taken place last year. So that’s going to comprise removing the stumps, filling those voids, properly grading and compacting that material, restoring the embankments.”

There have already been some public informational meetings in Albion and Brockport, and Callaghan says there will be more public meetings early next year.

The earlier legal action, which came from Brighton, Perinton and Pittsford, was not challenged by the state agencies that control the canal. But officials say they do want to look at a comprehensive review of the situation with the embankments along the entire canal.

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.