The completion of a typical bridge over a highway usually doesn’t merit a big celebration. But that wasn’t the case today with a ribbon cutting for the new $6.2 million Sentinel Heights Road Bridge over I-81 in the Town of Onondaga. The state Department of Transportation worked with the Onondaga Nation to craft an image of the Hiawatha Belt that adorns the side of the bridge.
We are celebrating the completion of the Sentinel Heights bridge with a ribbon cutting event tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. DOT will be joined by the Onondaga Nation to officially open the new bridge. pic.twitter.com/GazIpPNiox
— NYSDOT Central NY (@NYSDOTSyracuse) November 9, 2022
Nation Chief Sid Hill was on hand for Thursday’s event and said it’s important for travelers to know the history of the area. The belt represents the Haudenosaunee, the six nations that formed the Iroquois Confederacy. It’s known as the oldest democratic government.
