The big summertime concert series has kicked off in Syracuse’s Inner Harbor, and at the same time, crews are working to make the harbor bigger and better.

Organizers expect the dredging that is being done will draw an even bigger crowd to concerts like the Wednesday’s on the Water series in the future.

This summer, sand and soot are being cleared out of from the canal floor, which will allow easier access for boats pulling into the Inner Harbor.  The work is expected to be complete in about 2 months.

Lakefront Development Corporation Executive Director Joe LaGuardia says, "Their intent is to get down to 8 feet of water, potentially 12.  In the harbor area that's not the case, it's uneven right now so they want to get it to at least 8 feet depth."

The deeper water will allow even bigger boats to come through and the work won't interfere with events at the harbor because there will still be a lane open for boaters to travel.

Marc Albert, with the Inner Harbor Concert Series says "We want people to know that their boats are able to get through without a problem, and there is plenty of parking."

Boaters can pull up and park at new docks, which have hookups to electricity and water.  "There is dock space for over 60 boats right here, and we've had it full and boaters tie up to other boats so it's a lot of fun,” said Albert.

The long awaited upgrades were once supposed to be part of a major development of the Inner Harbor property, which would have extended to an expanded Destiny USA, where Carousel Center now sits.  These changes represent a smaller effort to improve tourism to the city.

"Any improvements that we do here, we think are a great value to the community,” said LaGuardia.

"The goal long term is to make the Inner Harbor in Syracuse more of a spot where boats can come for long term, to dock, and to be able to use this as a spot to come in and utilize the City of Syracuse,” said Albert.

Boaters can tune their marine radios to channel 9, and the Canal Corporation can help guide them into the harbor.   

There are concerts at the Inner Harbor every Wednesday night.  To view the schedule log onto www.wednesdaysonthewater.com