By Kathryne Rakowski
NORTH SYRACUSE – Members of the community gathered at North Syracuse Junior High School on Thursday, Aug. 10 to hear information and ask questions related to the I-81 viaduct project.
The open house was hosted by the New York State Department of Transportation, and focused on Contract One, the first of eight contracts which will be completed in two phases. With display boards, a video, and engineers available to answer questions, community members were able to learn more about the project and the positive changes it will have on the traffic, particularly commutes to and from downtown Syracuse, as well as access to the Watertown area.
Contract One includes the widening of four bridges, which will make travel more efficient, particularly aiding in diverting high speed traffic from downtown Syracuse to 481.
Tenesha Murphy, I-81 community liaison & public information officer, explained the need to reconstruct the interchange between 481 and 81.
“It’s important to widen the interchange to keep a high-speed connection” she said. “Ramps will be widened so that you won’t even feel like you’re coming onto a ramp, allowing you to maintain your same speed. It’s really going to modernize the infrastructure.”
Though many are optimistic about the project, there are also concerns from the community.
Liverpool resident Raymond Runions lives close to where construction will be taking place and came to the meeting to set his mind at ease about how the project will be effecting his daily life.
“Right now I’m concerned about the noise and so I’m gathering information about that,” he said. “I’m not opposed to change, and I know this needs to happen. I just hope it’s going to work out.”
Murphy said that open houses like this are good opportunities to answer these types of questions.
“Once they get their initial questions answered, I’ve found that everyone seems really excited about the project,” she said.
Another point of optimism is the jobs this project will bring to the area. Regional Compliance Specialist Robert Short shared that there are incentives for project leaders to hire Syracuse residents for the work.
“Contractors want to hire people from this area and there will be a lot of different jobs available,” he said, noting the importance of helping the community. “Syracuse is an impoverished area nationally, so this is great for this community. It’s good business to do business locally.”
Murphy looks forward to the positive changes and modernization this will bring to the area.
“We’re going to look like those big cities that you visit, and it will be right here in Syracuse,” she said.
Contact One is scheduled to be completed at the end of 2025.
For more information on the project, visit webapps.dot.ny.gov/i-81-viaduct-project-overview.
