Connective Corridor work to run through 2015

SYRACUSE  —  Work on the final two phases of the joint Connective Corridor project between the city of Syracuse and Syracuse University (SU) is scheduled to start this summer and finish in 2015, according to a timeline shared at a meeting this morning.

The two phases of construction, which will extend streetscape and public-transportation improvements from Forman Park to SU’s Warehouse at 350 W. Fayette St., carry a combined price tag of $14.8 million. A U.S. Department of Transportation grant will contribute $10 million to the project, with another $1 million coming from Onondaga County and $3.8 million from SU.

Designs are being finalized by the project’s engineering firm, Salina–based Barton & Loguidice. Planned improvements include new sidewalks, snow-storage areas, bicycle lanes, vehicle travel lanes, signs, landscaping, lighting, and bus pull-ups.

Second- and third-phase construction is set to follow a first phase of streetscape development stretching from University Avenue in front of SU’s Hall of Languages to Forman Park on East Genesee Street. That initial phase started in 2011 and wrapped up in the fall of 2012. It cost $10 million and was funded by federal grants, the city of Syracuse, Onondaga County, and SU.

The Connective Corridor project, which aims to connect Syracuse University with the city’s downtown, represents a major economic-development initiative, according to city of Syracuse Deputy Director of Planning and Sustainability Owen Kerney. He spoke at the meeting this morning, which was held at the Warehouse to share project information with property and business owners.

“By doing this we’re also bringing more people down to this corridor, using this corridor, and I would hope that they’re utilizing the businesses along the corridor,” Kerney says. “I hope they’re using the services, the restaurants, the institutions, and other things that you find along the corridor.”

Contact Seltzer at rseltzer@cnybj.com