WATERFORD – The Erie Canal’s locks in Waterford reopened Monday, ending a three-day closure caused by an unexplained mechanical problem.

The state Canal Corporation announced the closure on Friday, saying the Waterford Flight, which connects the Hudson and Mohawk rivers on the canal system, was closed “until further notice.”

The agency said the decision was prompted by a “mechanical breakdown,” though the alert to boaters did not explain the problem. A new alert said the locks would reopen Monday morning.

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The Waterford Flight, a series of five locks, was constructed in 1905. It raises boats 169 feet over a 1.5-mile stretch, according to the Waterford Historical Museum and Cultural Center. Approximately 64,000 boaters passed through the entire canal system last year, according to the canal corporation.

It was unclear if any boats were caught between the locks in Waterford. The closure did prompt the Seneca Chief – a replica of a boat used by Gov. DeWitt Clinton on a historic inaugural voyage from Buffalo to New York Harbor on the Erie Canal in 1825 – to cancel a visit to Mohawk Harbor in Schenectady on Saturday.

Once the locks reopened, the westbound ship was expected to make its next stop in Amsterdam.

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This article originally published at Erie Canal reopens Monday in Waterford.