After years of discussions and public outcry to replace the I-81 viaduct through Syracuse with a Community Grid, the project’s future is now very clear. The Final Environmental Impact Statement has been released.
State Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez said the final report solidifieswhat the public wants.
“So tearing down 81 and the viaduct and replacing it with the Community Grid, that's where we can truly begin to heal not only the wounds that the original infrastructure caused, but really reconnecting those downtown neighborhoods that were carved apart during that time of construction, and quite frankly, left behind in the aftermath.”
The I-81 viaduct through the City of Syracuse will be in place a few more years before a Community Grid can be constructed. Regional State DOT Director Mark Frechette explained getting rid of the I-81 viaduct is really going to happen.
“Federal review is approved today. This document is signed by the New York State Department of Transportation. It's also signed by the Federal Highway Administration. And actually, it is the Federal Highway Administration who's putting out this document tomorrow morning. ”
He added the FEIS report is full of over 8,000 public comments that were taken into consideration. The public will still have 30 days to respond. One area of concern was a roundabout originally placed near Dr. Martin Luther King, Junior School on the South Side.
"We have moved the roundabout to Van Buren (Street) and we have created a large land buffer between Dr. King Elementary King School and the transportation system to further protect the children that attend Dr. King Elementary School."
$1.1 billion of funding was included in the recently passed state budgeton top of the previous $800 million. It's coupled with the federal portion, and the price tag is $2.2 billion of the project. Lane widening to I-481 will begin sometime this fall. Click here to view the FEIS for the I-81 viaduct to Community Grid replacement.
The Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Interstate 81 Viaduct Project will be officially published on April 15, 2022, a major milestone that keeps this project on track to break ground in the fall of 2022. More from @GovKathyHochul here: https://t.co/TmrzbRrgg5
— NYSDOT (@NYSDOT) April 14, 2022
You can now read the full Final Environmental Impact Statement.
