2 weeks before canal opens
Historic waterway starts 190th season on May 1
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – The Erie Canal is mostly empty now, but soon it will be filled and will be operational for its 190th season.
The State Canal Corp. is planning a May 1 opening for the canal (depending on the weather). The top photo was taken last evening in the bottom of the canal in Albion, east of the Main Street lift bridge looking towards a privately owned bridge. Gaines Basin Road is about another ½ mile to the east.
The gates on the canal along Albion-Eagle Harbor Road are reflected in the shallow canal in this photo taken from the privately owned bridge, which I have heard referred to as Bowman’s Bridge. The bridge leads to a couple houses and the former Albion water treatment plant.
Here is a picture of a puddle in a field by the towpath.
