SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Now that the federal and state governments have given their final approval, the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) is now focusing on securing the contractors to handle the first phase of the $2.25 billion Interstate 81 (I-81) viaduct-replacement project. “We will have five separate contracts that we will put out […]
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Now that the federal and state governments have given their final approval, the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) is now focusing on securing the contractors to handle the first phase of the $2.25 billion Interstate 81 (I-81) viaduct-replacement project.
“We will have five separate contracts that we will put out to bid in the next year,” Mark Frechette, NYSDOT’s I-81 project director, said during the May 31 announcement.
He went on to say that NYSDOT “purposefully” sized these contracts so that they’re at least small enough for local contractors to bid on them. The department also plans to spread the contracts out by a couple months each.
“This maximizes the ability of our local contractors,” Frechette said. “If they don’t get contract one, they can bid contract two. If they don’t get contract two, they can bid contract three, and so forth.”
Frechette noted that NYSDOT still has plenty of work to do with final design details, the local hiring initiative, and competitively bidding all five contracts. The department also needs to negotiate with the contractors on topics that include schedules and commitments that will be maintained during the construction phases.
All five of the contracts will be finishing close to the end of 2025. The first phase will last about three years through 2025 and the second phase begins in 2026 and will be done by the end of 2028, according to Frechette.
“The phase one work is all preparatory work we need to rip out the interstate right behind us. So, the I-81 viaduct does not come out of service until … close to the end of 2025 when these first five contracts are going to be done,” Frechette said.
Final approval
The six-year, $2.25 billion project to replace the elevated viaduct of I-81 through downtown Syracuse is set to get started this fall.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration and the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) on May 31 signed the final documents for the project.
NYSDOT posted the formal record of decision (ROD) during the week of June 1.
Gov. Kathy Hochul and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) on May 31 announced the signing of the formal ROD for the project. The signing means construction on the community-grid alternative will begin this fall.
Frechette called the record of decision a “major milestone” for the I-81 project.
“It is the final selection of the … community grid alternative, not only by the state of New York but also by the Federal Highway Administration,” Frechette said.
Frechette joined NYSDOT Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez who announced the signing in speaking with reporters across from Erie Canal Museum and under the elevated portion of I-81.
Besides Frechette, additional members of the NYSDOT team working on the project also joined Dominguez for the May 31 afternoon announcement.
“Construction will begin later this fall on the community grid alternative,” Dominguez said in her remarks. “This has been a long time coming, to say the least. But, out of all of the options that we thoroughly studied, the community grid alternative represents a generational opportunity for the city of Syracuse and its surrounding communities.”
At $2.25 billion, it represents the largest upstate New York project that NYSDOT has undertaken, she noted.
As part of the $2.25 billion project, the existing elevated structure will be replaced by a new Business Loop 81 with an integrated community grid that will disperse traffic along local north-south and east-west streets. Portions of Interstates 481 and 690 will also be reconstructed to accommodate high speed traffic going around and through the city.