Work on I-81 construction project gets into full swing

SYRACUSE — Crews have started their work on the first two contracts on the $2.25 billion Interstate 81 (I-81) viaduct-replacement project, while those with questions, concerns, or a desire to help work on the project can connect with two project-outreach centers in Syracuse. 

At the same time, the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) was scheduled to close the exit ramp along I-81 south to Interstate 481 north on the morning of Sept. 11. 

The closure of exit 16A and traffic-pattern change are related to the I-81 viaduct-replacement project, NYSDOT said in its Aug. 30 announcement. The department expects the newly aligned ramp to open in the spring of 2025. 

The closure is “necessary” to begin preparations for a newly constructed interchange that will connect future Business Loop 81 southbound to the redesignated I-81 northbound, the NYSDOT said.

Outreach centers

Earlier in the month, NYSDOT on Aug. 16 announced the availability of the Syracuse outreach centers. They’re located at Tucker Missionary Baptist Church at 515 Oakwood Ave. in Syracuse and at the Hills Building at 217 Montgomery St., near Syracuse City Hall.

The center at Tucker Missionary Baptist Church is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2-6 p.m., while the one at the Hills Building (first floor) is available Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., per an Aug. 16 announcement from the office of Gov. Kathy Hochul.

The centers are part of the community-engagement process for the project, David Smith, NYSDOT regional director, told the gathering at the announcement at Tucker Missionary Baptist Church.

“The outreach centers continue that effort. [They’ll] enable us to continue to engage with the community, enable the community to come in, share any concerns that they have with us, and we can talk about those concerns,” Smith said in his remarks. 

He added that the project represents an “historic opportunity for the community in terms of jobs.” Members of the Urban Jobs Task Force were among those attending the announcement. 

The community outreach centers are a “crucial component” to fulfilling the local-hire goal as they’ll provide direct access to the necessary information get trained and hired for the project, Dekha Dancil, president of the board of directors of the Urban Jobs Task Force, said in her remarks.

She also noted the department’s commitment to a 15 percent local hiring goal for the I-81 project. 

“That’s about 4,000 of the 26,000 jobs that are going to be available on the project. These are not just jobs but rather opportunities for life-changing careers as skill tradesmen and women, so it’s a big win for Syracuse,” Dancil said. 

I-81 work underway

Major construction has started on the first of multiple contracts planned for the I-81 project, Hochul’s office said. Work on the first contract consists of reconstructing the existing Interstate 481/I-81 northern interchange to the re-designated I-81 and Business Loop 81, while also converting portions of I-481 to the new I-81 and making several road and bridge improvements along the corridor. 

The second contract will begin the conversion of the southern interchange of I-481/I-81. Together, these two contracts are “essential” to maintaining a high-speed interstate connection with national and international north-south trade routes from Tennessee to the Canadian border, the governor’s office stated. 

The announcement of the outreach centers happened nearly a month after federal, state, and local officials on July 21 held a groundbreaking ceremony for the project that remains the subject of ongoing litigation.

Officials spoke before a packed gymnasium inside STEAM at Dr. King Elementary School at 416 E. Raynor Ave. in Syracuse.

Those speaking at the groundbreaking event included New York Gov. Kathy Hochul; U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.); U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D–N.Y.); White House Senior Advisor & Infrastructure Implementation Coordinator Mitch Landrieu; Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh; and Lanessa Owens-Chaplin, director of racial justice with the NYCLU.

In a news release about the event, Schumer’s office described the groundbreaking as “formally launching one of the largest and most ambitious construction projects ever undertaken in Upstate New York.”

After the speaking portion inside the school, the officials involved then held shovels and tossed dirt from a mound assembled at the intersection of Martin Luther King East and Leon streets outside the school, which is just below the elevated viaduct and not far from the JMA Wireless Dome on the Syracuse University campus. 

In speaking with reporters in the elementary school’s library after the ceremony, Hochul was asked about holding the groundbreaking event with the issue still in the courts. The governor replied, “We’re making great progress. We understand the litigation. I won’t comment on litigation, but this is an important milestone to move ahead on this element. The lower court judge allowed for this movement and we’re not going to wait.” 

Overseen by NYSDOT, the $2.25 billion project will create a community grid to “reconnect downtown neighborhoods severed by the I-81 viaduct’s construction and correct an enduring injustice that has disproportionately impacted residents of color in the City of Syracuse for decades,” Hochul’s office said.