Open from Oswego to Waterford to Allow Stranded Boats to Reach Destinations. Sections of the Erie Canal and the Oswego Canal will temporarily reopen for a two-week period that begins Sunday, November 20, the New York State Canal Corporation announced. The eastern portion of the Erie Canal has been closed to navigation in the Mohawk Valley since major flooding in late August damaged several canal structures. To allow transient marine traffic to reach their destinations this season, portions of the canal system will reopen from November 20 through December 3.