The Erie Canal was one of the greatest engineering feats of its time. Under the leadership of Governor DeWitt Clinton, construction began July 4th 1817 on the 363 mile canal and was completed in 1825. Known as Clinton's Ditch, it connected Albany with Buffalo and became a major transportation route between the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes. This new and inexpensive method of transportation hastened midwest development, which in turn justified the canal enlargement of the 1840's and '50'S. The enlarged Erie was completed in 1862. In 1909 the Barge Canal was authorized as a modernization of the old Erie and was in use by 1918.