Dewitt Clinton envisioned a great canal to improve access to the natural resources of the mid-west, and although a cross-state canal to Buffalo was initially chosen over a route to Lake Ontario at Oswego, the Oswego Canal was begun in 1826 and completed in 1828. In 1830, the Welland Canal opened to connect Lakes Ontario and Erie, and commerce from the upper lakes again began to follow the old route up the Oswego River. Once Oswego Harbor became a canal destination, commerce surged and the city grew into a thriving international port. In 1850, the Erie Canal was improved by widening, deepening, and rerouting some sections, and the waterway's name was changed to the Barge Canal, while the Oswego Canal remained an important option for connecting to the Great Lakes waterway. Alvin Bronson, the first representative from Oswego County in the state senate, became the leader in 1824 of the movement supporting the Oswego Canal, and through his intensive advocacy the canal system also included a connection to the Port of Oswego.