DeWitt joins legal push against I-81 grid

TOWN OF DEWITT – At its special meeting the morning of Sept. 29, the DeWitt Town Board approved its pursuit of legal action spurred by displeasure about the proposed Interstate 81 community grid project.
The Town of DeWitt is joining a lawsuit against the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) that a group of suburban municipalities and individual petitioners has collectively agreed to file.
Deputy Supervisor Kerry Mannion introduced the proposal for the town to commit up to $10,000 for the suit. Though that cap is in place on the town’s part, the board members will evaluate as the lawsuit proceeds whether they wish to continue with the approved contribution.
“We have to see what the DOT’s response is and what the federal response is,” Mannion said.
He said during the special Thursday meeting that the Town of Salina and the Town of Clay were other municipalities set to be on the plaintiff side of the proceeding.
DeWitt Supervisor Ed Michalenko said in response that he was in favor of joining the suit because he feels the town and particular neighborhoods within, like DeWittshire and Jonathan Craig, had been ignored in the current plans for the multi-billion-dollar construction project.
“We probably have every year or every two years a meeting with New York State DOT over the same list of issues,” Michalenko said. “But certainly this 81 is something that we oughtn’t let go at this point in time.”
Michalenko also said that the interchange of Genesee Street and Interstate 481—soon to be I-81—could use redesigning to avoid an inundation of traffic.
He added that he believes the project would segregate the North Side of Syracuse and the South Side and cause a dependence on secondary streets, all while effectively shifting the economic capital of Central New York from downtown to DeWitt. As a result, he said there would be pressure to let in the development of gas stations, trucking terminals and more hotels.
“This is a major infrastructure change to Central New York, and while the DOT has focused on the city, they have not taken advice or recommendations from the suburban towns,” Mannion said. “The whole thing has been arbitrary and egregious.”
Mannion also said that the transportation entity has not been transparent enough with regard to the restructuring of I-81. He said the lawsuit is meant to secure the undivided attention of NYSDOT and FHWA officials, impose a possible delay on the project’s progress, and obtain “straight answers.”