On July 5, CMT Otter and her tandem barges turned west off the Hudson River and toward E-2, the beginning of the Waterford Flight.

The 220 tons of oversize cargo was made up of sections of a bridge fabricated in Italy and bound for Buffalo, definitely not traveling by truck or train,  and more cost-effective to transport by the NYS Canals.

I’d love to have an estimate of the number of folks who came out to see, photograph, and otherwise witness a new chapter in the history of cargo moved on the waterway in its 200th season.  If you saw the tow in your canal town, I’d love to hear an estimate for your area.

In the last mile of transport, CMT Otter pushed one of the barges through the Black Rock Channel and under the 1927 Peace Bridge.

The final barge arrived in Buffalo yesterday, a crane immediately began the process of lifting the sections from the barges to the re-imagined LaSalle Park, now Ralph Wilson Park.  CMT Otter and the two barges are already moving back east through the Canal for their next commerce.  You can still catch it as it makes its way back to then Hudson River and waters beyond.

Many thanks to Ralph Wilson Park Conservancy for use of these photos.  See more of their photos here.  The first photo by Will Van Dorp.