BY JEFF CHUDZINSKI

North Country This Week

CANTON — St. Lawrence County will see an additional 10 miles of county roads repaved this summer, in addition to the projects already slated for completion this summer.

Legislators approved a budget modification of $1.2 million during the finance committee on July 31.

In the 2023 budget, legislators originally approved paving 38.65 miles of roads.

County Highway Superintendent Don Chambers told legislators on the finance committee that he and County Administrator Ruth Doyle sat down for a meeting two weeks ago to discuss adding additional miles to the existing projects in progress.

“We’re going to slowly add additional road mileage to the county work this year,” he told legislators.

Chambers said he reviewed the entire county roadway system and came up with an additional 10 miles that would fit into the current plans.

Those roads that will see some work done will be recycled and surface treated, he said.

According to Chambers, it is his hope that additional CHIPS funding will become available in the future so more projects can be completed during the 2024 paving season, allowing the county to continue to expand on planned projects.

Last year, legislators and Doyle recommended adding 10 additional miles of paving to the planned schedule, which cost $2.1 million due to higher costs of materials.

Legislators again recommended adding an additional 10 miles this year as well to “address the challenges associated with ongoing maintenance of the county road system.”

In 2022, the county received $3,903961 from the Consolidated Highway Improvement Fund and an additional $891,118 in PAVE-NY funding from the state, allowing the county to complete 26 miles of paving last summer.

In total, St. Lawrence County has 573 miles of county roads to maintain, along with other infrastructure.

Annually, the county has repaved anywhere from 28 to 32 miles of roads, officials say.

All county roads that are expected to be repaved this summer will be completed by county employees.

The modification will now need final approval by the full board when they meet again next week.