By JIMMY LAWTON

OGDENSBURG -- City councilors are supporting the Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority’s plan to expand the local airport.

Lawmakers approved a resolution of support Monday for a project that would expand the runway at the Ogdensburg International Airport to allow for larger planes and connecting flights.

The project would extend runway 27 from 5,200' to 6,400', which would allow the airport to accommodate larger passenger planes and bring in an estimated 40,000 additional tourists to the area and St. Lawrence County annually.

The new runways would be able to support 150-passenger planes “and enhanced travel destinations to and from St. Lawrence County, New York.”

The resolutions says “the Ogdensburg International Airport is an important commercial and transportation asset located in St. Lawrence County, which serves the City of Ogdensburg and the greater region with daily commercial air service to travelers flying into and out of northern New York and southeastern Ontario, Canada.”

The resolution says the airport “is conveniently located within an hour's drive to important Northern New York attractions such as the 1000 Islands, the St. Lawrence River, the St. Lawrence Seaway, and the historic Seaway Trail, as well as renowned education institutions such as St. Lawrence University, Clarkson University and SUNY Potsdam, and important commercial centers, such as the Port of Ogdensburg and Canada's capital, Ottawa, and also New York's Adirondack Mountains as well as the City of Ogdensburg.”

City councilors support a proposed partnership between a private-sector commercial air carrier and the Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority that could encourage economic development in the region.

“The City of Ogdensburg unanimously endorses the runway extension proposal submitted by the Authority as a location for an expanded runway in St. Lawrence County,” the resolution says. “The City of Ogdensburg strongly promotes the 1,200' proposed runway expansion at Ogdensburg International Airport to attract additional tourists and associated economic benefits of he Ogdensburg Bridge & Port Authority to attract additional tourist enplanements.”