Port Gibson Bridge update
By Beth Hoad

To date, work on the tunnel underneath the East Palmyra-Port Gibson Road along the Erie Canal Widewaters Bridge is proceeding on schedule and as planned. Last week, crews from the New York State Thruway Authority Division carved out the rough opening that will be lined with precast concrete panels to create an eight-foot high, twenty-foot wide and sixty-foot long passageway under the north end of the bridge.

The tunnel is part of the $1.7 million section of the Erie Canal Trailway under construction between Palmyra and Peak's Bridge on Whitbeck Road east of Newark. The tunnel is one of the major features on the old Erie Canal towpath along with a singlespan steel structure bridge over Red Creek and a double-span bridge over Ganargua Creek using refurbished existing railroad supports from the old West Shore Railroad to circumvent Harrison's Spillway east of Palmyra.

The project is part of the $35 million Canal Revitalization Program, which is designed to create the longest multi-use recreational trail in the United States and is expected to draw thousands of tourists into the area.

Click here to see the 'before' story.

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