The Champlain Canal in NYS is in similar disrepair, mostly due to heavy silt build-up over the years, causing insufficient depth to support high-draft commercial ship traffic, a former source of revenue, with cargo now going mostly by rail, and the canal system becoming suitable only for low-draft recreational vessels, with no fees involved.
The problem is high levels of PCB contamination that has prevented dredging due to disposal issues. The EPA agreement with General Electric to remove PCBs from the Hudson cost $ billions, with only limited success, but the Champlain Canal was not included in the settlement. Still in litigation.
Plus, despite its uselessness, the Canal has been a conduit for dozens of invasive species
to migrate into Lake Champlain, both plants and "animals", including zebra mussels and now the threat of asian clams, spiny water fleas, etc. Trump's proposals include sharp cutbacks in funding to Corps of Engineers, the lead agency. His administration is clearly anti-environmental...pave the earth if there is a profit to be made. Sorry for venturing into the political arena, but, it needed saying.
