Sen. Schumer Calls on Corps of Engineers to Fund St. Lawrence Seaway Port Dredging
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called on the Army Corps of Engineers to approve dredging of the Ogdensburg Harbor, which he said would reduce shipping costs and open new business opportunities (here). The Corps is nearing completion of its now five-year-old…
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feasibility study for harbor and port improvements at Ogdensburg, which sits along the St. Lawrence Seaway/Canadian border in northern New York and serves as a port of call. Deepening the harbor to 27 feet is estimated to cost $7.3 million, $2.7 million of which would come from the federal government if the Corps signs off on the project. The port was last dredged in 1984, and its main dock can’t be accessed by Seaway vessels, causing congestion, higher shipment handling costs and lost business opportunities, Schumer said. Dredging, along with planned dock upgrades and storage expansion, would allow the port to handle two or more vessels -- instead of one vessel -- at the same time. Failure to deepen the port, which brings in over $4 million in yearly government revenue, would yield continued losses of channel depth and increase transportation costs by up to $79,000 annually, or potentially prompt the closure of port commercial traffic, Schumer said.