As early as the 17th century, settlers in the New World recognized that growth depended on moving goods by land and water, and because only a narrow strip of land separated the Chesapeake Bay and the Delaware River, business leaders proposed a waterway linking them to shorten travel between Baltimore and Philadelphia by more than 300 miles. After early financial and engineering setbacks, construction of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal began in earnest in 1824, with about 2,600 laborers digging and hauling earth by pick and shovel for an average daily wage of 75 cents. In 1829, the C&D Canal opened as one of the most expensive canal projects of its time and one of the most commercially important, and it remains one of the world’s busiest canals, carrying millions of tons of cargo annually. At 450 feet wide, 35 feet deep, and 14 miles long, it can accommodate oceangoing vessels, and it is one of only two sea-level commercial canals in the U.S.