OSWEGO, N.Y. — Work has finished on a flood-resiliency projects in the town of Sterling in Cayuga County and at the Port of Oswego. 

The project at the Port of Oswego sought to stabilize the west pier wall at the Port of Oswego, an effort the state says will ensure continued safe operation. The project in Sterling focused on a road carrying traffic over Sterling Valley Creek. 

The projects were awarded through New York’s resiliency and economic-development initiative (REDI), the office of Gov. Kathy Hochul said. 

Sterling

The state on Sept. 28 announced the completion of the $1.5 million project in the town of Sterling. 

The existing double culvert carrying McIntyre Road over Sterling Valley Creek was the only access route for local homes and agricultural properties north of Sterling Creek. Flooding in 2019 caused inundation of the culvert and erosion of the roadway embankment at both the inlet and the outlet of the culvert, leading to emergency repairs to avoid road closures, the governor’s office said.

To keep the roadway open, crews removed the existing double-barrel culvert and replaced it with a 71-foot single-span bridge. Workers installed stone fill in front of the abutments and along the wingwalls to protect the structure against future erosion. Improvements included in this project will ensure “uninterrupted” residential and emergency-vehicle passage.

“High waters have compromised critical infrastructure in the town of Sterling,” Scott Crawford, Sterling town supervisor, said. “The McIntyre Road project addresses the damage to the roadway, and the completed work will greatly benefit our community, ensuring the road will remain open and accessible to residents and emergency services. We look forward to our continued partnership with the state through the REDI program.”

Port of Oswego

Construction crews have finished a project at the Port of Oswego that stabilized the west pier wall, which the state says ensures continued safe operation.

It was the fourth of five projects awarded to the Port Authority of Oswego through the state’s REDI initiative, the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) announced.

The west pier provides for ship loading and unloading of various commodities such as cement and petroleum and is vital to operation of the Lehigh Cement Facility. Record-high water levels, high wind, and wave action, have negatively impacted the West Pier wall. 

Resiliency measures implemented in this project include underwater wall repairs that sealed the face of the wall and will prevent future loss of fill behind the wall, stabilization of the existing concrete cap using tiebacks and reconstruction of the working-pier surface behind the wall.

The REDI Commission awarded this project $70,000. In total the Port Authority of Oswego has been awarded more than $2.3 million for its five resiliency projects.

In addition to the funding awarded through REDI, this project received $1.2 million in funding by NYSDOT, through the passenger and freight rail assistance program (PFRAP), as well as $48,646 in funding contributed by the Port Authority of Oswego.

The Port of Oswego is an international port, supporting nearly 120 vessels and allowing more than one million tons of cargo to pass through the port on an annual basis, NYSDOT said. 

About REDI 

In response to the “extended pattern of flooding” along the shores of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River, REDI was created to increase the resilience of shoreline communities and bolster economic development in the region, per Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office. 

The state established five REDI regional planning committees to identify local priorities, at-risk infrastructure and other assets, and public-safety concerns. The REDI committees include representatives from eight counties. Those counties include Cayuga, Oswego, Jefferson, St. Lawrence, Niagara, Orleans, Monroe, and Wayne. 

The REDI Commission allocated $20 million for homeowner assistance, $30 million to improve the resiliency of businesses, and $15 million toward a regional dredging effort that will benefit each of the eight counties in the REDI regions. The remaining $235 million has been allocated toward local and regional projects that “advance and exemplify the REDI mission.”