Update: June 14, 2008. I just came across this article posted on the same date I originally wrote this post. (June 12). In it the author says that “According to the federal transportation department, shipping by water is far more energy-efficient. In a tractor-trailer, one gallon of fuel is needed to transport one ton of freight 59 miles. On a barge, the same load will go 514 miles on a gallon of fuel.”
There is a movement afoot to abandon the Erie Canal because it is not paying its way. Normally, I am against government projects that don’t pay their way. However, while there may come a time when the Erie Canal has to be abandoned, the time is not now.
With the price of fuel rising, our railroads and our canals are in a position to pick up more commercial traffic.
The canal, of course, is a national historic treasure and as such deserves the same status as other historic treasures which don’t always pay for themselves.
Here are some photos of a tug and barge that went through the canal yesterday. The barge is carrying a turbine that was too big to go by any other method.
Lockwood 1000 Barge
Credit & Copyright Dan Weaver
Turbines and generator on the Lockwood barge
Credit & Copyright Dan Weaver
Tuboat Margot
Credit & Copyright Dan Weaver
Here is a press release from The New York State Canal Corporation about the shipment of the oversized turbines, seen in the above photos which I took last evening shortly after the tug and barge passed through Lock 11 in Amsterdam and tied up for the night. The tug and barge left Waterford at 7:00a.m. When I called Captain Rob Goldman around 9:30, they had just passed through Lock 6. Passage on the canal is slow, but it is the only way some things can be transported.
Oversized Cargo to be Shipped Via Canal System
ALBANY, NY (06/10/2008; 1643)(readMedia)– p. The New York State Canal Corporation and the New York State Marine Highway Transportation Company today announced the shipment of oversized cargo on the New York State Canal System beginning at 7 a.m. on Wednesday, June 11, 2008 at Lock E-2 in Waterford, New York. Two massive turbines and one generator, worth approximately $10 million and weighing 450 tons, are being transported through the Canal System by barge because they are too large and heavy to be transported over land.
The turbines and generator originated from Newport News, Virginia, and will be traveling via the Erie and Oswego Canals to Duluth, Minnesota. The cargo will then be transported to its final destination in Western Canada to the Canadian Oil Company.
The tugboat “Margot” will be pushing the barge “Lockwood 1000” with the cargo. The “Margot” is expected to enter the Erie Canal at Lock E-2 in Waterford, New York the morning of Wednesday, June 11 and arrive in Oswego on Friday, June 13.
For information on the exact location of the load during the transit, contact Capt. Rob Goldman at (518) 365-3305.
The Canal Corporation is a proud supporter of the 2009 Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial, a year long celebration designed to commemorate 400 years of progress in the Empire State. For information regarding the Quadricentennial, please visit www.exploreny400.com
The New York State Thruway Authority/Canal Corporation offers a free email service called TRANSalert to its customers via email or text messaging to inform them of major incidents and emergencies that may affect travel on the Thruway or navigation on the Canal System. To sign up for the Canal TRANSalert service, customers can visit the Corporation’s website at www.nyscanals.gov/tas/. To sign-up for Thruway TRANSalerts please visit the Authority’s website at www.nysthruway.gov/tas/.
2 Comments
June 12, 2008 at 9:57 am
On one hand you have a good point, but on the other hand the canal is absurdly underutilized, especially for commercial purposes. If we are going to pay for it, and for the pensions and other benefits of its scads and scads of employees, then avenues that offer some pay back, other than paltry lock fees, need to be explored. I would love to see barge traffic return like it was when I was a kid, but I don’t expect to. Maybe increasing fuel costs will make the slow, and not so very versatile barge an attractive vehicle again…or maybe not.
June 12, 2008 at 10:35 am
Your points are well taken. First, all fat needs to be cut out of the Canal Corp. Secondly, fees need to be increased. Other means need to be explored to make the canal profitable or at least break even.
But do we abandon the canal if it doesn’t become profitable? How much will it cost to abandon it? How will the canalway trail riding, hiking experience be without the canal? Will it have to be filled in, land sold off, etc.
It sounds to me like an extensive study needs to be undertaken before any action is taken.