Excavators and a barge are now working the shoreline at Clayton Harbor Municipal Marina, where a $1.26 million expansion is underway to add 22 new slips along the St. Lawrence River. A tractor-trailer has already rolled into town carrying sections of the new floating docks, the first visible sign of a project years in the making.
The work, first reported by nny360.com, includes construction of a new floating dock system, dredging, and installation of electrical and water service. When finished, plans call for roughly 372 feet of main floating dock, a 20-foot utility dock, and about 440 feet of finger and end docks. The marina's 49 existing floating slips and 22 new slips would bring the total to 71. The project moved forward after funding became available through New York's Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative, known as REDI.
Municipal bid documents show the marina dock procurement moving forward, with in-water concrete anchor block installation timed to follow the close of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's fish spawning restriction on July 15, according to Town of Clayton records. Town officials weighed matching aluminum-framed dock systems against lower-cost steel frame alternatives before settling on a procurement path, the same records show.
Tariffs Threatened to Blow a Hole in the Budget
That procurement nearly ran into a geopolitical snag. In September, international trade tensions between the United States and Canada threatened to add an unexpected $100,000 to the cost of dock components, a roughly 25 percent surge over an original budget estimated under $400,000 for the dock procurement portion of the project, according to a report from WWNY TV. Municipal leaders explored assembling the docks locally or seeking a federal tariff exemption through the office of U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney in response to the threatened cost spike, the station reported.
The marina expansion is part of Clayton's broader effort to improve its St. Lawrence River waterfront.
A Statewide Response to Historic Flooding
State Support for Waterfront Projects REDI is a New York State initiative that supports municipal projects, including Clayton's marina expansion.
A companion $15 million Regional Dredging Project under REDI is intended to maintain navigation channels across Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River, the Governor's Office reported.
Marina Capacity
Before the current expansion began, the marina had 49 floating slips.
Photography of the ongoing dock installation has been documented by Alec Johnson, a photographer for the Watertown Daily Times.
