Posted on October 7th, 2022

Crescent Bridge Site of the Old Erie Canal Aqueduct Over the Mohawk River

This is the 5-lane Crescent US 9 bridge over the Mohawk River, the successor to the original foot and auto bridge built in 1915. In front and to the right of the bridge was where the old Erie Canal Aqueduct was built to carry the Erie Canal over the Mohawk River to the north or Crescent side of the river. You can see the stones in the foreground which were, up to 1915, a pier of the aqueduct and also served as a bridge for people, wagons, horses, and vehicles. Before the Crescent Dam downstream was built, the water was too low and fast in the river to carry barge traffic.

So from 1842 to 1915 on the Erie Canal, the Canal went over the river here from the south or Cohoes side to the north side then followed the Mohawk to about where the Balltown Road Bridge leads into Niskayuna. Then the canal crossed back to the south side of the river on another aqueduct and followed the river until it cleared the falls in Schenectady. Then the canal and the river merged.

Currently, the Barge Canal did away with the separate canal links and aqueducts and just uses the dredged and navigable Mohawk River west of the Crescent Dam. The park where the picture was taken is called Freddie's Park, named after a local angler who did a lot of volunteer work along this part of the Mohawk River.

Link: Old Crescent Aqueduct - Erie Canal