Posted on August 13, 2020
OGDENSBURG — The board of directors of the Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority acted to accept $20 million in grants from the state Department of Transportation that could lead to the start of a long-awaited dredging and port expansion project next year.
The project, the planning of which dates back to 2015, includes dredging the channel to allow ships to come further up the existing dock and adding 550 feet to the west side of the dock to allow for more storage.
A plan was put in place with the Army Corps of Engineers who agreed to provide 65 percent of the funding for dredging, but the OBPA has had trouble coming up with the full amount of money needed.
At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the Corps of Engineers approached the OBPA and asked whether they had any hope of getting the rest of the money, Bridge and Port Authority Interim Director Steven J. Lawrence said.
The OBPA was about $10 million short and there were not any good prospects and they were in danger of losing support of the Corps of Engineers.
Chairman Vernon D. “Sam” Burns was talking with people in Albany, Mr. Lawrence said, and when it was clear the Authority was in danger of losing the $9 million coming from the federal government, the state was able to find an additional $10 million for the project.
“We’ve been working on this for years now,” Mr. Burns said. “At one time this was a project we didn’t think was going to happen.”
Mr. Burns credited the offices of Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y. and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo for coming up with the money for the project.
This is the second recent award of money from the state, Mr. Burns said, pointing out a $19 million grant being used for bridge repair.
The agreement still has to be approved by the state attorney general and the state comptroller, Mr. Lawrence said.
There is an Oct. 1 deadline set by the Army Corps of Engineers to have all the funding in place so work can begin, Mr. Lawrence said.
“We will hopefully put this out to bid either late 2020 or early 2021,” Mr. Lawrence said. “The hope is to get construction started in 2021.”
Once started, the project is expected to take about 18 months to complete, Mr. Lawrence said.
Source: nny360
