NYSDOT’s I-81 project leader retires, new leader appointed

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The man who has been leading the effort by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) on the I-81 viaduct-replacement project has retired.

The department has also announced his successor.

Mark Frechette has been a “key member” of NYSDOT in both Central New York and the North Country for more than 35 years, NYSDOT Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez said Wednesday in announcing Frechette’s retirement.

For the past 10 years, Frechette has served as project director of the Interstate 81 (I-81) viaduct-replacement project. He worked in coordination with the community to lead the project from its initial conception and design through the record of decision and first contract award on Jan.12, the NYSDOT said.

In the past few years, Frechette has joined Dominguez for the major announcements in Syracuse on the I-81 project’s progress, replacement options, and official approval from the federal government.

Over the past two years, Frechette has worked with his successor, Elizabeth (Betsy) Parmley, who joined the I-81 project team in 2021 as a project manager. Parmley brings a “wealth of experience and knowledge” to her new position as project director for I-81, the DOT said.

She began her career with DOT in 2005 as a junior engineer and worked her way up to lead DOT’s Central New York Traffic Safety & Mobility Group, before officially joining the I-81 viaduct project team.