Canalbank stabilization project starts next week in Gaines

Posted 1 April 2022 at 3:53 pm

A 1.8-mile segment of the Erie Canalway Trail will be closed during work

Press Release, State Canal Corp.

GAINES – The New York State Canal Corporation today announced an embankment stabilization project along the Erie Canal in the town of Gaines, Orleans County, will begin the week of April 4.

The Canal Corporation and its contractor will be installing a “filter blanket,” comprised of layers of sand and gravel earthen material, along the canal’s northern embankment between Eagle Harbor-Waterport Road and Gaines Basin Road to mitigate water that is seeping through the embankment at this location.

To facilitate this repair, a 1.8-mile segment of the Erie Canalway Trail will be closed between the Eagle Harbor and Gaines Basin trail access points.

Throughout the duration of the project, residents will notice contractors, wearing hard hats and high-visibility vests, as well as trucks and heavy equipment operating at and near the construction site.

The seep being mitigated through this stabilization project is one of more than 200 known seeps on canal earthen embankments, which comprise approximately 125-miles of the Canal system.

The Canal Corporation continuously monitors and inspects these earthen dams on foot through “bank walk inspections” as well as using advanced technologies like drones and thermal imaging.

The work being performed along the Erie Canal in Gaines has been reviewed under a project specific State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) evaluation and is not part of the Canal Corporation’s proposed Earthen Embankment Integrity Program.

It is anticipated that this stabilization work will be completed in May ahead of the Canal’s opening on Friday, May 20.

The Canal Corporation appreciates the public’s patience while this work is completed.