OGDENSBURG — Construction has begun on a $1.8 million access road at the Port of Ogdensburg that officials say will enable the facility to handle oversize cargo.

Contractors have been on site since late last month. The work will be done by Sept. 30, according to Wade A. Davis, executive director of the Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority.

The road will run a third of a mile east along the New York and Ogdensburg Railway and then south to the intersection of Barre and Ford streets.

From there, heavy trucks with oversize loads will head to Route 37 via Ford Street Extension, which goes through a commercial district. The alternative has been through a residential stretch of Paterson Street.

Mr. Davis said last week that the access road will put the port in the big leagues of shipping by attracting bigger cargo that pays higher fees to the authority. It will also create up to 70 longshoreman jobs.

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