Which of the following best summarizes the importance of the Erie Canal?
A. Its railroads became the most important means of transportation in the early 1800s.
B. It made it possible to sail up river, against river currents. That cut water transportation time greatly.
C. It greatly reduced travel time between New York and the Ohio Valley by linking Lake Erie and the Hudson River.
D. It started a flurry of canal building in the United States, called "canal fever."