The unusually deep ravine formed by the east branch of Sandy Creek created a difficult engineering problem for builders of the original Erie Canal in the early 1820s. To reduce construction, engineers departed from the canal's general east-west route and created a sharp loop more than 2,000 feet to the south, allowing the waterway to cross a relatively narrow section of the creek. Even so, the embankment became the tallest on the entire canal system, rising 76 feet above the valley floor. Because the sharp curve forced boaters to slow down, canal-oriented businesses developed there, and the Village of Holley grew at the bend. In 1854-61, state officials decided the loop should be straightened to create a shorter, more easily navigable waterway, and a new canal section was built on a very high and long embankment that cut off the loop. State law prevented canal sections in villages or cities from being abandoned, so the old loop continued in use for several decades to serve local businesses, although through traffic no longer stopped in the village. Eventually the loop was drained and eliminated, but traces of the original canal remain east of the Public Square. In the early 20th century, as the state prepared to enlarge the Erie Canal, concrete remained controversial, with stonecutters and masons opposing its use and some arguing it could not withstand upstate New York winters. After an engineer inspected completed concrete structures, consulted experts, and accountants found that stone construction would cost 16 million additional dollars, the state chose concrete. The trough atop the embankment over Sandy Creek at Holley became one of the most striking uses of concrete on the Erie Barge Canal System, and massive amounts of concrete were later used for the Medina Aqueduct in 1913 and for locks on the present-day Erie Barge Canal such as Lock 17 in Little Falls.