OBPA looks at straightening route for wind turbine blades

OGDENSBURG — The Port of Ogdensburg could see many more wind turbine shipments in the years ahead with the number of wind projects being planned in the north country.

An obstacle for the Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority to overcome first is finding a solution to straightening out Paterson Street near routes 37 and 68. The sharp curves in the street don't make it ideal for trucks hauling wind blades spanning nearly 150 feet to access it.

"You have a sharp right turn, followed by a sharp left turn at the end of the street," OBPA Executive Director Wade A. Davis said. "It's a potential impediment that's being studied."

OBPA officials have been talking recently with the state Department of Transportation and the city of Ogdensburg about the problem. Paterson Street is considered the main access road to the port.

"The department is aware of concerns related to traffic movement in the area of the Rte. 37 & 68 intersection," DOT spokesman Michael Flick said in an e-mail. "While there are no immediate plans for a project at that intersection, we are looking at the area in an effort to determine what modifications or alterations may be made to enhance mobility for those who utilize that stretch of highway."

Mr. Davis said alternate routes from the port were being devised, but declined to disclose them.

The first shipment of wind turbine parts for the Wolfe Island project unloaded Saturday at the port could be the catalyst for landing more shipments, especially with possible wind farms in Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties, OBPA officials said. The shipment shows prospective clients the port has the facilities and equipment to handle the wind turbine parts.

"We're talking to a lot of heavy-lift clients, including wind turbine projects," said Mr. Davis, declining to reveal the clients interested in the port.

The OBPA oversees the only U.S. port on the river portion of the St. Lawrence Seaway. The Port of Oswego also is considered a part of the system.

Parts for the Maple Ridge Wind Farm in Lewis County were shipped into Oswego, and taken from there by truck along state, county and local roads to Lewis County. The route was determined by various clearances from utility lines, bridges and underpasses.

The wind turbine contracts could create several new jobs and increase revenue, along with diversifying the commodities coming through the port, Mr. Davis said. Another benefit for using the Port of Ogdensburg is that cargo can be loaded onto ships dropping off the wind turbine parts for delivery to a foreign port.

The OBPA and Vermont Rail System, which operates the New York and Ogdensburg Railway for the public authority, have attracted several new commodities to the port in the past year, including hominy, dried distillers grains, cottonseed, citrus pulp and corn. The port's largest commodities are road salt and corn gluten.