BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

MASSENA -- Travelers on the Pontoon Bridge Road in Massena may see a lower speed limit in the future but the process to change the speed may take months to complete.

Town Supervisor Sue Bellor said during the Feb. 21 town board meeting that a request would be submitted to the Department of Transportation to lower the speed from the current 55 miles per hour to 45 miles per hour.

The proposed change comes as work ramps up at the future location of the Air Products hydrogen production facility.

The change in speed would run from Route 131 to the village line on North Main Street, Highway Superintendent Dylan Casselman said.

Site clearing is well underway currently, with construction expected to begin in the coming months. That has led to concerns from Air Products officials, construction workers and town officials alike.

According to Air Products Construction Manager Michael Clemson, when construction is underway, more and more vehicles would be entering and exiting the highway at the site.

Though flaggers have been used and road signs have been posted, Clemson noted close calls in recent weeks.

“I’ve been the construction manager on the site prep phase. If anyone’s been out there on Pontoon Bridge, you’ll notice a large area that’s been cleared there. Going into next year when we get in peak construction you might have 300-plus cars coming on that site each day,” he said.

With more vehicles coming and going from the site, the odds go up that an incident may occur with the current speed limit, officials say.

Clemson said one such incident occurred when one vehicle was following another too close going into the construction zone before attempting to pass. Despite having the site marked and flaggers on site as a large truck was backing in, a collision nearly occurred, he said.

Though Bellor said the process could be slow depending on New York State's actions, Clemson said Air Products should be OK for now but noted "a year from now it will be much different."

A copy of the board's resolution will be sent to Air Products and St. Lawrence County officials, Bellor said.

The facility, which will cover over 80 acres, will likely take about three years to complete before opening in 2026. Construction will begin sometime this spring, officials say.

Construction will bring a number of temporary jobs to the area, with an estimated 500,000 hours of construction work to be done, according to Air Products officials.

Once at its peak, construction at the site would lead to the employment of about 350 people full-time.

About 40 jobs have been created just in the site clearing stage, officials say.

Once complete, the facility will employ about 90 workers, 64 of which will “likely be at the facility” and another 26 jobs that will “be in either an office location somewhere in this area or at the site,” officials previously said.

Local contractors will be hired to assist with the construction of the facility, as well as the maintenance throughout the coming years as well, Air Products officials have said.

Officials say the site will require around $2 million worth of maintenance every year.

Air Products also recently finalized a deal with the village of Massena to purchase $300,000 worth of water from the Massena Water Department.

“The process with this site will use approximately 1 to 1.2 million gallons of water a day. Of that water, about 300,000 or so will then be returned to the St. Lawrence River, actually cleaner than it was when it came out,” Air Products and Chemical Director of Government Relations Trip Oliver told officials last year.