The Culvert at Medina
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Culvert Road near Medina in Orleans County is the only place where a road goes UNDER the Erie Canal. There's a small error in the sign though: There may have been a tunnel under the canal here in 1823, but the culvert you see here wasn't built then, as the photograph (below) that was taken in about 1916 proves.
This photograph shows the south side of the culvert being rebuilt for the modern Barge Canal enlargement (1905-1918). A wooden form supports the stones lining the tunnel until the mortar between the stones hardens. Later when the form is removed, the weight of the stones pressing against each other will support them and help to keep the joints tight. The concrete wall that the man is resting on above is a concrete liner (learn more) constructed over this stretch to prevent leaks because the tunnel limits the amount of soil that can be embanked here over the highway itself. Here a man guides the keystone to complete the archway. Cranes handle the weight, lifting the stones with a device resembling ice tongs. Small shallow holes are chiseled into both sides of each stone to be sure the tongs don't slip.
This aerial view (shot from the north looking south) doesn't really show how deep the depression is on both sides of the canal in order to allow traffic to pass underneath. What happens when it rains? This whole area would be a small lake if there wasn't somewhere for the water to go. Fortunately, a small stream runs down from this spot (from the pond on the right) and empties into Oak Orchard Creek, which carries it north to Lake Ontario. Without that drainage, the road could not have passed under the canal here.
