BY JOSH DAVISNorth Country This Week

OGDENSBURG— Fresh paint and paving work are at the center of a roughly $15 million rehabilitation project planned for the Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge.

Project manager Daniel Thomas of engineering firm Greenman Pedersen described the scope of the work at a public information meeting held Feb. 26, saying that the rehabilitation will build upon restoration projects carried out in 2011 and 2020.

The work will pave roughly 3,900 feet of roadway leading from Proctor Avenue through the toll plaza and customs to the bridge, and will repaint at least three spans of the 1.5-mile suspension bridge, which leads to Johnstown, ON, and is administered on the American side by the Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority.

Thomas said that “ A lot of this is continuing the paint and rehab” completed in previous projects, noting that the new work will paint trusses on spans 9-11 of the bridge.

Painting of the three spans will cost roughly $10 million, which Thomas said will be covered by federal funding. Thomas said he is hopeful to secure funds to also complete spans 12-14 while the same contractor is involved with the project, saying this would be most efficient from a materials and mobilization standpoint.

He said all of the remaining painting could be done at once “if we can come up with about another $10 million,” with costs to paint one section totaling $3.1 million.

Thomas noted that the paint on spans 9-11 is still “the original coatings from 1957,” and that “after 60 years that paint has long outlived its expected life cycle.” He added that bridge paint is generally expected to last 20 or 30 years at the most.

The project manager said that no major traffic delays are expected as a result of the work, with plans to close one lane of traffic and alternate passage with the use of traffic signals.

Design approval for the painting portion of the rehabilitation project is expected late this month, with construction approval expected in July. The project will go out for bids in August, with work being completed between September and November of this year. Paving work will not begin until the 2026 building season.

The Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority also plans to repave the roadway leading to the bridge, resurfacing all lanes from Proctor Avenue north to the bridge.

Full and partial depth paving will be completed depending on existing conditions. Total costs for the paving work are estimated at $3.17 million.

No total road closures are expected as a result of the project, as no work will be completed on the deck surface of the bridge.

Thomas said that eventually the deck will need to be replaced with galvanized steel, but noted “we are probably several projects away from reaching that.”

Project leaders include representatives from Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority, New York State Department of Transportation, Greenman Pedersen, and the Federal Highway Administration.

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