﻿812 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  The 
  Barge 
  canal 
  survey. 
  The 
  report 
  of 
  the 
  Canal 
  Committee 
  

   was 
  presented 
  to 
  Governor 
  Roosevelt 
  under 
  date 
  of 
  January 
  15, 
  

   1900, 
  and 
  chapter 
  411 
  of 
  the 
  laws 
  of 
  1900 
  directed 
  the 
  State 
  

   Engineer 
  and 
  Surveyor 
  to 
  cause 
  surveys, 
  plans 
  and 
  estimates 
  to 
  

   be 
  made 
  for 
  improving 
  the 
  Erie 
  canal, 
  the 
  Champlain 
  canal 
  and 
  

   the 
  Oswego 
  canal, 
  appropriating 
  $200,000 
  therefor. 
  The 
  route 
  

   to 
  be 
  surveyed 
  is 
  defined 
  in 
  this 
  act, 
  and 
  follows 
  the 
  recom- 
  

   mendations 
  of 
  the 
  Canal 
  Committee 
  already 
  given. 
  It 
  is 
  also 
  

   provided 
  in 
  section 
  3 
  of 
  this 
  act 
  that 
  the 
  surveys, 
  plans 
  and 
  

   estimates 
  for 
  the 
  construction 
  and 
  improvement 
  of 
  the 
  Erie 
  canal 
  

   shall 
  be 
  of 
  such 
  dimensions 
  as 
  will 
  allow 
  said 
  canal 
  to 
  carry 
  

   and 
  lock 
  through 
  boats 
  150 
  feet 
  in 
  length, 
  25 
  feet 
  in 
  width 
  and 
  

   of 
  10 
  feet 
  draft, 
  with 
  a 
  cargo 
  capacity 
  of 
  1000 
  tons 
  each. 
  The 
  

   prism 
  of 
  Erie 
  canal 
  was 
  to 
  have 
  a 
  depth 
  of 
  water 
  of 
  not 
  less 
  

   than 
  12 
  feet, 
  with 
  11 
  feet 
  in 
  the 
  locks 
  and 
  over 
  structures. 
  The 
  

   locks 
  were 
  to 
  be 
  310 
  feet 
  long 
  and 
  28 
  feet 
  wide 
  and 
  11 
  feet 
  deep. 
  

   The 
  State 
  Engineer 
  was 
  required 
  by 
  the 
  act 
  to 
  complete 
  the 
  

   survey 
  and 
  hand 
  his 
  report 
  to 
  the 
  Governor 
  on 
  or 
  before 
  January 
  

   1, 
  1901. 
  The 
  Governor 
  was 
  to 
  submit 
  the 
  same, 
  with 
  his 
  own 
  

   recommendations 
  relating 
  thereto, 
  to 
  the 
  Legislature 
  on 
  or 
  be- 
  

   fore 
  January 
  15, 
  1901. 
  Chapter 
  411, 
  became 
  a 
  law 
  April 
  12, 
  

   1900. 
  

  

  This 
  act 
  required 
  the 
  completion 
  of 
  the 
  survey 
  in 
  about 
  eight 
  

   months, 
  and 
  while 
  there 
  was 
  a 
  large 
  amount 
  of 
  data 
  available, 
  

   which 
  had 
  been 
  gathered 
  two 
  years 
  previously 
  by 
  the 
  Board 
  of 
  

   Engineers 
  on 
  Deep 
  Waterways, 
  nevertheless 
  it 
  is 
  difficult 
  to 
  

   suppose 
  that 
  very 
  complete 
  surveys 
  could 
  have 
  been 
  made 
  in 
  so 
  

   short 
  a 
  time 
  as 
  this. 
  The 
  State 
  Engineer 
  conducted 
  the 
  sur- 
  

   vey 
  ably, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  intended 
  to 
  merely 
  point 
  out 
  that 
  from 
  limita- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  time 
  alone 
  the 
  survey 
  was 
  necessarily 
  somewhat 
  approxi- 
  

   mative. 
  

  

  The 
  estimates 
  are, 
  generally 
  speaking, 
  as 
  reliable 
  as 
  could 
  be 
  

   expected 
  for 
  the 
  amount 
  of 
  time 
  put 
  upjon 
  them. 
  The 
  total 
  cost 
  

   of 
  the 
  improvement 
  on 
  the 
  present 
  line 
  of 
  the 
  Erie 
  canal 
  through- 
  

   out 
  the 
  whole 
  extent, 
  and 
  including 
  the 
  Oswego 
  and 
  Champlain 
  

   canals, 
  is 
  estimated 
  at 
  about 
  $87,000,000, 
  while 
  the 
  total 
  cost 
  on 
  

   the 
  most 
  desirable 
  route, 
  via 
  Mohawk 
  and 
  Seneca 
  rivers, 
  is 
  

   about 
  $77,000,000. 
  There 
  are 
  certain 
  additions 
  to 
  this 
  which 
  

  

  