Transportation
St. Lawrence County’s transportation systems provide efficient and flexible movement throughout the US and Canada by rail, trucking, air, and river.
Land
Nearby Interstates81, 87, US Route 11
State Highways3, 12, 37, 56, 68, 812
Canadian Highways401, 416
The Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge in Ogdensburg and the St. Lawrence Seaway International Bridge at Massena provide easy access to Canada’s highway system connecting St. Lawrence County to highway 401 in Ontario. These provide four‐lane access east to Quebec and west to Toronto.
The County offers access to Interstates 81 and 87 in Upstate New York via New York State Routes 37 and 11.
Driving / Truck Distances to Markets
St. Lawrence County is within short driving distance of a number of markets and urban centers.
The driving times given below (in hours) are approximate for a starting point in Canton, NY, which is roughly at the center of St. Lawrence County.
- 4.0 Albany, NY
- 7.0 Boston, MA
- 5.0 Buffalo, NY
- 3.0 Burlington, VT
- 15.0 Chicago, IL
- 7.0 Cleveland, OH
- 8.5 Detroit, MI
- 6.5 New York, NY
- 7.5 Philadelphia, PA
- 3.5 Rochester, NY
- 2.5 Syracuse, NY
- 9.0 Washington, D.C.
- 2.0 Montreal (Canada)
- 1.0 Ottawa (Canada)
- 5.0 Toronto (Canada)
Railroad Service
CSX railroad and several short lines provide freight services to all five major communities in the County, as well as to its remote southeastern quadrant.
Air
St. Lawrence County is served locally by a number of airports, including the Ogdensburg International Airport, Richards Field (Massena), and Damon Field (Potsdam). Potsdam’s airport has recently expanded its terminal facilities and services for business use and its fuel and runway enhancements now allow it to serve small jets.
Additional airports within a short drive include Watertown International Airport, Hancock International Airport (Syracuse), and the international airports of Ottawa and Montreal are within an hour’s drive, allowing for easier travel than to most major international airports.
St. Lawrence County Airports
Ogdensburg International Airport
Operator
Ogdengburg Bridge & Port Authority
Runway Length
6,400 ft.
Services
Passenger, Freight
Carriers
Contour Airlines
Connections
Altoona and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Contact
Contour Airlines Phone Number 1-888-332-6686 and website: https://www.contourairlines.com/
Operator
Ogdengburg Bridge & Port Authority
Runway Length
6,400 ft.
Services
Passenger, Freight
Carriers
Contour Airlines
Connections
Altoona and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Contact
Contour Airlines Phone Number 1-888-332-6686 and website: https://www.contourairlines.com/
Massena International Airport
Operator
Massena (MSS)
Runway Length
2: 5,000 ft. & 4,000 ft.
Services
Passenger, Freight
Carriers
Boutique Air
Connections
Non-stop to Boston Logan Airport (BOS)
Contact
(315) 769-7605 (Airport Operations); (855) 268-8478 (Reservations)
Operator
Massena (MSS)
Runway Length
2: 5,000 ft. & 4,000 ft.
Services
Passenger, Freight
Carriers
Boutique Air
Connections
Non-stop to Boston Logan Airport (BOS)
Contact
(315) 769-7605 (Airport Operations); (855) 268-8478 (Reservations)
Damon Field
Operator
Village of Potsdam
Runway Length
3,700 ft.
Services
Carrier, Freight
Carriers
Charter
Connections
N/A
Contact
(315) 265-5640
Operator
Village of Potsdam
Runway Length
3,700 ft.
Services
Carrier, Freight
Carriers
Charter
Connections
N/A
Contact
(315) 265-5640
River
The Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) qualified Port of Ogdensburg provides large sea vessels with access to the Great Lakes and world ports.
The Port of Ogdensburg is the first U.S. port of call when entering the Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Seaway System, providing the ideal location for inbound shipments of cargo for delivery to the United States and Canada. The Port’s strategic location, combined with its trouble-free multi-modal rail and highway connections to all points in North America, makes it highly economical for ships to deliver cargo to the Port for distribution to the U.S.A. and Canada.
Exporters have also discovered that the Port of Ogdensburg is a prime location for outbound shipments to Europe and other overseas locations. Because the Port is closer to Northern Europe than most U.S. ports, transportation costs can be reduced by using the Port of Ogdensburg. Product can be easily railed or trucked to the Port of Ogdensburg for overseas shipments.
1st U.S. port of call when entering The St. Lawrence Seaway
The Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge is located less than three miles (4.8 km) from the Port and is the principal artery in the region linking the U.S. and Canada.
The St. Lawrence Seaway
The St. Lawrence Seaway System is a 3,700 km “marine highway” that extends from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes connecting the lower St. Lawrence River to the Great Lakes and enabling ships to transit between Montreal and Lake Erie.
Miners, farmers, factory workers and other commercial interests ship goods from the western prairies to the eastern seaboard. Over 200 million tons of cargo travel on the waterway on an annual basis.
The Seaway serves as a key supply chain for the Great Lakes Region – the world’s 3rd largest economy. And with economic output estimated at US $6 trillion in 2017, the region accounts for 30% of combined Canadian and U.S. economic activity and employment.
Gross Domestic Product
(US $ trillions)
The Great Lakes–St. Lawrence region boasts a massive geographic footprint, and is a major driver of the North American economy. With economic output estimated at US$6 trillion in 2017, the region accounts for 30% of combined Canadian and U.S. economic activity and employment. The region’s output ranks ahead of Japan, Germany, the U.K. and France, and it would rank as the third largest economy in the world if it were a country, behind only the U.S. and China—notably, the region overtook Japan a few years ago. Quite simply, the economic importance of the region can’t be overstated.1
Multi-Modal Rail Services
The Port of Ogdensburg has a multi-modal trans-loading facility for both dry and liquid bulk products.
Owned and operated by the Vermont Rail System, the New York and Ogdensburg Railway serves the Port of Ogdensburg and interchanges with CSX Transportation Inc. in Norfolk, New York.
Additional Infrastructure
St. Lawrence County is served by state‐of‐the‐art broadband provided through the Development Authority of the North Country’s Open Access Telecom Network.
This network is capable of delivering advanced telecommunications services, including Ethernet (10/100/1000), Optical Transport/Wavelength Services, SONET (OC3/12/48/192) and TDM (DS-1/DS-3). These services can support all TDM and IP-based applications, including Internet, Video/Distance Learning, Storage Area Networks (SANS), and other advanced applications.
All Verizon Central offices are equipped with digital switches and connected with fiber optics. T-1-BRI and PRI are available on a limited basis. Frame relay, ATM switching, and SONET redundancy support the network.
Slic Network Solutions
Local broadband company Slic Network Solutions provides local fiber networks in Canton, Massena and Potsdam. The equipment that is used to deliver lit fiber optic services like point to point connections and Internet traffic creates a Passive Optic Network (PON) which multiplies the capacity of each fiber strand in the network creating endless capacity in the network. The equipment is a next-generation technology, creates an IP environment, and is new in its product life cycle.
We connect customers in St. Lawrence County with our all-fiber network…Really there’s no reason a person couldn’t get connected anywhere they need to right here in St. Lawrence County.
Kevin Lynch, Slic Network Solutions
1 BMO Capital Markets, Spring 2018 https://greatlakes-seaway.com/en/the-seaway/
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