ALBANY - Albany and Buffalo have been designated as the eastern and western ends of the Erie Canal, ending an ongoing squabble, Gov. Eliot Spitzer announced Wednesday.
State law previously said the Erie Canal began at the Hudson River at Waterford, just north of Albany, and ended at the Niagara River in Tonawanda.
When the canal was built in 1825, it spanned 363 miles from Albany to Buffalo.
In 1905, the state undertook an extensive expansion project to help the waterway accommodate larger boats. The barge canal was then diverted from Buffalo to Tonawanda, and the other navigable end was moved from Albany to nearby Waterford.
After Buffalo began restoring the original terminus as a tourist attraction, Assemblyman Sam Hoyt sought last month to name that city as the waterway's western terminus. Tonawanda officials worried that losing the legal recognition would also mean losing money.
The city had received more than $1 million in federal funding for its Gateway Harbor because of the designation.
The new designation restores the canal's historical endpoints and will help with the economic revitalization of Albany and the Buffalo Inner Harbor District, said Spitzer, who signed the law changing the designations last week.
When the canal was built in 1825, it spanned 363 miles from Albany to Buffalo.
In 1905, the state undertook an extensive expansion project to help the waterway accommodate larger boats. The barge canal was then diverted from Buffalo to Tonawanda, and the other navigable end was moved from Albany to nearby Waterford.
After Buffalo began restoring the original terminus as a tourist attraction, Assemblyman Sam Hoyt sought last month to name that city as the waterway's western terminus. Tonawanda officials worried that losing the legal recognition would also mean losing money.
The city had received more than $1 million in federal funding for its Gateway Harbor because of the designation.
The new designation restores the canal's historical endpoints and will help with the economic revitalization of Albany and the Buffalo Inner Harbor District, said Spitzer, who signed the law changing the designations last week.
