Asset Renewal
To address its infrastructure renewal needs, the SLSDC has developed a 10-year U.S. Seaway Asset Renewal Program (ARP) for its navigation infrastructure and facilities in Massena, N.Y. The 50 ARP projects and equipment will address various needs for the two U.S. Seaway locks, the Seaway International Bridge connecting Ontario and New York, maintenance dredging, operational systems, and Corporation facilities and equipment. None of these investments will result in increases to the authorized depth or width of the navigation channel or to the size of the two existing U.S. locks.
For the FY 2009-2013 timeframe, the ARP includes 43 projects and equipment estimated at $86 million. Dollar amounts for ARP projects beyond FY 2009 are "project feasibility" estimates and have an industry-recognized contingency of 20-30 percent.
The SLSDC's ARP will support the engineering considerations highlighted in the November 2007 binational Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Study. The Study, which was completed with the support of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Transport Canada, and the U.S. Department of Transportation's Office of the Secretary, SLSDC, and the Maritime Administration, evaluated the infrastructure needs of the U.S. and Canadian Great Lakes Seaway System and assessed the economic, environmental, and engineering implications of those needs pertaining to commercial navigation. As part of its ARP planning and implementation processes, the SLSDC will work closely with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to leverage its expertise.