b'HISTORIC CONSTRUCTIONThegenesisofthisimpressive achievement was inspired in the late 1700s bythewishtocreateamilitaryroute throughcentralUpperCanada. However,constructiononly beganin1833withabill authorizinga$10,000grantto fundlock-building,dredging oftheOtonabeeRiver,anda survey of the Trent River as far as RiceLake.CANAL FEVERThat was the Golden Age of canals. As the province of Upper Canada was developing, they didnt have gravel and asphalt roads, so canals were the most efficient way to get around, says Dennis Carter-Edwards, a retired historian with Parks Canada who spent four years, 2007 to 2011, working on the waterway. The Kirkfield Lift Lock, seen from above one of its boat Throughthe1820sand1830s,Carter- basins, is the highest point of the WaterwayEdwardsnotes,workwasalsobeing carriedoutontheWellandCanal,the Rideau and the St. Lawrence Canal, oftenSUPPLY-CHAIN ISSUES Inhis1998bookARespectableDitch: funded by private individuals who hoped toAlthough some conditions of stone, gravelAHistoryoftheTrent-SevernWaterway, profit by tolls or transportation-dependentand concrete work have changed since that1833-1920, the late author James T. Angus businesses.time, others have not. In the early period,mentions that contractor Robert Barclay, As the canal was being built, it wouldthe1830sand1840s,whenthefirstlockwhowasgiventheresponsibilityfor employthemostcurrenttechnology.cuts were being built, the real challenge wasbuilding the Chisholm Lock in 1837,was Itincorporatednewtechnologylikeforthecontractorswhohadtoassembleluckyinthisrespect:Muchofthe unreinforcedconcrete,whichwasthelabourforceandfindthesourcesofexcavation for the canal was through gravel pioneered here. The use of the hydraulicmaterial,whethergraniteorlimestone,andhardpanandthematerialtherefore lift lock and the marine railway at Big ChuteCarter-Edwards explains. Sometimes therecouldbeeasilyremoved.Agoodsupply alsorepresentedpioneeringtechnology,wouldbematerialsnearbyandofgoodof quarrying stone was found only three Carter-Edwards says. quality; on the other hand, the appropriatemiles upstream from the lock site and was Theentireprojectwouldeventuallymaterials could be some distance from theeasily and cheaply transported across the takeplaceinvariousstagesupuntilthelock site. ice by sleigh or in summer by barge.1920s, in fits and starts." The initial push, which lasted until the mid-1830s, focused on the stretch between Trenton and Lake Scugog. Numerous locks, dams, canal cuts and timber slideschutes used to float logs past obstacles like rapids and waterfallswere begun.AftertheRebellionsof1837andOur Docks Are Ready to Servesubsequentborderclashes,thefunding driedup.ConstructionoftheWaterwayThanks for Sailing With Us Since 1954paused for a few years until the creation of the Province of Canada in 1841 fromSince 1954 Southwestern Sales has provided high quality aggregates and shipping theamalgamationofUpperandLowerservices from quarries throughout the Great Lakes. Our network of ships, barges, Canada,whenanewlycreatedBoardofdocks and trucks enables us to move a variety of bulk commodities in the most Works reviewed and reassessed the project.economical manner for our customers. Full-service operations are available at our An 1842 loan of $1.5 million from Britaindocking facilities in West Windsor, East Windsor, Kingsville, Sarnia and Sombra.producedaflurryofnewconstructionCrushedStoneSandShippingCargoHandlingTruckinginordertosupportthelumberindustrySouthwestern Sales Corporation Limitedin moving timber efficiently. The goal of100 Lesperance Road, Unit 5, Tecumseh, Ontario N8N 1W1creating an uninterrupted water route wasPhone: (519) 735-9822Fax: (519) 735-1913dropped in favour of local improvementswww.southwesternsales.cawith land links.FALL 2022AVENUES 35'