Original canal is 363 miles long, 28 ' wide at the bottom, 40' wide at the surface of the water, 4' deep. The locks were 90' long by 12 feet wide. Traveling night and day the boats could travel 80 miles in 24 hours. Fare with all expenses passage was 4 cents per mile.

The Feeder Canal is built in 1822 on east side of the river from the site of University of Rochester's chapel to the intersection of Mt Hope and South Ave. This canal brought river water to feed the canal and bypassed the rapids. Once the feeder was compleated, the canal was filled from Rochester to Pittsford. So much water is diverted by the canal and mills the High  Falls is cut to half its original width. When the canal reached  Lake Erie in 1825 the feeder canal water was not needed as a water source, but remained in use to bypass the several sets of rapids on the river.

Erie Canal Aqueduct is compleated in 1823 allowing the canal to be filled westward to Brockport. Built at the site of  an Indian ford by 30 convicts from Auburn Prison at a cost of $83,000. The span is 804 feet long,  and was supported by eleven arches constructed of cut sandstone. The waterway was seventeen feet wide, four feet deep. The towpath on north side added to the width, giving an overall width of  twenty nine feet. The aqueduct is so narrow only one boat can cross, resulting in many fights between the boatmen.