A total of $45 million of road and bridge work is in the pipeline for the North Country, including many in St. Lawrence County, under an accelerated program, according to state officials.

The projects include a $600,000 bridge deck replacement on Rt. 68 over Grannis Brook in Canton as well as 11 projects in St. Lawrence County labeled “Pavement Preservation Treatment” ranging in cost from $65,000 to $1,025,000.

The pavement preservation treatment projects in St. Lawrence County will take place on:

• U.S. Rt. 11 from Canton to Potsdam ($1,023,0000)

• U.S. Route 11 from Walmart to Market Street in Potsdam ($585,000);

• State Rt. 37 from Waddington to Massena ($1,065,500);

• State Rt. 37 from Ogdensburg to Waddington ($1,025,000);

• State Rt. 37 from Keystone Road between Waddington and Ogdensburg to Waddington ($853,500);

• State Rt. 37 at the Rt. 12 interchange in Morristown, part 1 ($110,000) and another at the Rt. 12 interchange , part 2 ($183,000);

• State Rt. 68 from Woodbridge Corners to Canton Village ($554,000);

• State Rt. 58 from the Fine village line to N. Edwards Road, N. Edwards Rd. to the Edwards-Fowler town line;

• State Rt. 3 at Fine to the village N. line.

Under the “New York Works” plan, the governor’s office has asked the state Department of Transportation to identify projects “which can be accelerated by utilizing either the conventional design-bid-build project delivery mechanism or the newly-enacted design-build project delivery method.”

Said state Sen. Patty Ritchie, R-Heuvelton, who represents the western part of St. Lawrence County, “New Yorkers are ready to go back to work. Rebuilding our road and bridge network will help create important infrastructure jobs that will serve as a critical investment in the future of Central and Northern New York. NY Works will help reduce our region's unemployment rate and revitalize the upstate economy.”

Said state Joe Griffo, R-Griffo, who represents the eastern portion of the county, “Smart, targeted maintenance and development of essential public infrastructure is an important ingredient for sustained economic growth. I'm optimistic and excited that there are several initiatives in the North Country that will be identified for this landmark plan. This is one of the cornerstones of the recent Budget agreement that we worked together with Governor Cuomo and the Assembly. NY Works will combine the multi-agency focus on immediate needs and create the groundwork for addressing future capital investments.”

Said Assemblywoman Addie Russell, who represents the "River District," “NY Works is focused on creating much needed jobs for hardworking North Country families by jumpstarting critical infrastructure improvement projects throughout the North Country. We are moving in a positive direction – focusing on improving the state's infrastructure and assets – to build a better New York. The North Country economy will benefit from the jobs it creates and from the improvements that are made.”

The Department of Transportation Region 7 office in Watertown could not answer questions seeking more details about the $7.7 million project and a definition of “Pavement Preservation Treatment.” Spokesman Michael Flick said that media inquiries on this program were to be directed to the governor’s press office. A telephone call there yielded the telephone number of an aide to the governor who did not return the call in time for inclusion in this story.