BUFFALO, N.Y. — A total of $300 million could be pumped into the Erie Canal corridor under a plan put forth by Governor Andrew Cuomo as part of his State of the State proposals.
The New York Power Authority Board, which has oversight for the canal, will be asked to approve that five year investment plan at its January meeting.
The initial phase of the plan amounts to $165 million. It calls for improvements to the fishing habitat and public fishing access in streams in Niagara, Orleans, and Monroe counties and various development projects in Central New York .
The first phase also calls for a Brockport Loop to connect the SUNY Brockport campus to the Empire State Trail and the village.
Other parts of the plan include flood control projects in the Schenectady area and more irrigation infrastructure for farmers in Western New York to help ease drought concerns in the summer.
The Re-imagine the Canals Task Force was set up last May. One of its public input meetings was held last summer in Lockport