Asset Renewal Program (ARP)
Starting in 2009, the SLSDC initiated its 10-year U.S. Seaway Asset Renewal Program (ARP) for its navigation infrastructure and facilities. The ARP projects and equipment included in the ARP Capital Investment Plan (CIP) 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. The ARP marks the first time in the Seaway’s history that a coordinated effort to repair and modernize the U.S. Seaway infrastructure has taken place.
For the FY 2013-2017 time frame, the Seaway ARP/CIP includes 39 projects and equipment estimated at $94.8 million with total funding for each year of the plan constrained to funding targets for those years as estimated and approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Dollar amounts for ARP projects are “project feasibility” estimates and can vary by an industry-recognized 20-30 percent. Project estimates and schedules may fluctuate at various points in the lifespan of the ARP and will be revised as needed and on a continuing basis throughout the length of the ARP.
In the first three years of ARP funding (FYs 2009-2011), the SLSDC obligated $49.7 million on 39 separate ARP projects. These projects included maintenance dredging in the U.S. portion of the navigation channel, lock culvert valve machinery upgrade to hydraulic operation, structural rehabilitation and corrosion prevention work on the Seaway International Bridge, gatelifter upgrades, and upstream miter gate rehabilitation, as well as various other structural and equipment repairs and/or replacement. FY 2012 ARP obligations are estimated at $15.6 million. The first large-scale lock-related projects of the ARP, which were funded in both FYs 2009 and 2010, were started during the Seaway’s winter non-navigation period, beginning in late December 2010.
The ARP is resulting in not only modernized infrastructure and new equipment to ensure the long-term reliability of the St. Lawrence Seaway, but it is also having a positive and significant impact on the Upstate New York economy. In fact, approximately 70 percent of the ARP funds obligated during the program’s first three years, totaling nearly $35 million, were awarded within the region. In addition to these contracts, the ARP is producing approximately $2.5 million in additional economic benefits to the region (local permanent and temporary hires, local spending on supplies and equipment, lodging, meals, etc.) each year.
SLSDC FY 2013-17 Asset Renewal Program (ARP) Capital Investment Plan (CIP)
ARP Media and Local Officials Tour, February 1, 2012
Footage courtesy http://centralny.ynn.com
ARP Reports to the U.S. Congress