Canadian bridge rules could be costly to OBPA

OGDENSBURG — New Canadian regulations for international bridges likely will require the Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority to upgrade security at the Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge with no promise of reimbursement.

Officials from the OBPA recently attended the second of three meetings with Transport Canada, a federal agency equivalent to the U.S. Federal Highway Administration, to discuss increased security regulations that are expected to become mandatory for all international bridges and tunnels into Canada next year.

"We will have to reach out and see what funding sources are out there, but it's doubtful that New York state agencies or federal agencies are going to fund Canadian requirements," OBPA Executive Director Wade A. Davis said.

The regulations are part of the International Bridges and Tunnels Act, which passed in 2007. The act gives Transport Canada authority over maintenance and security at the 33 international bridges, tunnels and railways reaching onto Canadian soil.

Elements of the security upgrade and details on how to pay for related costs are still being developed, but increased regulations should be implemented soon after the third meeting is held in about six months, Mr. Davis said.

Transport Canada officials did not return calls for comment Wednesday.

Robert G. Horr III, executive director of the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority, said he does not expect the increased regulations to require any additional work on the U.S. span of the Thousand Islands Bridge.

According to Mr. Horr, Transport Canada helped design the $2.4 million overhaul of the bridge's security procedures and hardware in 2007.

"We believe we're already well in compliance," he said.

The last security overhaul the OBPA did was in 2006, when the authority used a $450,000 state grant for new surveillance cameras, motion detection devices, bridge cable protections, lighting fixtures, manhole cover locks and engineering expenses. Mr. Davis said the upgrade covered about a third of the bridge's more than 1,000-foot span.

"It doesn't take a lot to do the math and know that this would be potentially a very costly project," he said.