State DOT to host community forum on the future of I-81

SYRACUSE — The New York State Department of Transportation on Wednesday will host a community forum at the Toomey Abbott Towers in Syracuse to discuss the future of Interstate 81 (I-81) in the city.

Toomey Abbott Towers is located at 1207 Almond St. in Syracuse.

The forum, the first of eight neighborhood meetings on the topic, will provide an update and a chance to ask questions, express concerns, and provide ideas, according to a news release from the group Save81.org.

Save81.org is a coalition of concerned residents, elected officials, employers, union members, and community groups that’s monitoring how state officials determine how to deal with the aging portions of I-81 in the Syracuse metro area.

Save81.org on Aug. 1 announced its opposition a plan that would replace I-81 in the downtown Syracuse area with a boulevard that would divert traffic away from the city, the coalition said.

Save81.org believes the state should consider “multiple solutions” that include a tunnel, a depressed roadway, a new bridge, a rebuilt elevated highway, or an idea that has yet to be proposed.

“The upcoming forums are an important opportunity for residents to voice their concerns about the boulevard plan and ask state officials to focus on better options,” Salina town supervisor Mark Nicotra, a member of Save81.org, said in the news release.

More than 2,500 area residents have now signed Save81.org’s petition in support of preserving I-81’s designation as an interstate highway through Syracuse, the coalition said.

More than 40 percent of those signing the petition are from the city of Syracuse, according to Save81.org.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com