One of the biggest questions around the massive - and expensive - I-81 project was whether local residents would benefit with jobs and paychecks. The Department of Transportation and Urban Jobs Task Force (UJTF) released a report showing how well years of workforce training matched people with opportunity.
The planning that went into the removal of the I-81 viaduct through Syracuse included many Department of Transportation hearings about impacts and outcomes. Project Director Betsy Parmley remembers one message from residents. “We heard loud and clear that the community wanted to be part of this project. … If we are building something in their backyard, then they want to be part of this project,” and simply, that meant jobs
The D-O-T and Urban Jobs Task force launched the I-81 local hire campaign in 2016. Now 10 years later, with hundreds of millions of dollars of work underway, the data is in.
“It took so much to get this off the ground and really glad to report that the outcomes are much better than I think any of us even could imagine when we set forth on doing this,” said Deka Eysaman, Executive Director of Southside Community Growth Foundation, and around from the beginning as part of the UJTF.
The report shows they fell just short of the goal of 15% of local workers on the jobs. Preliminary analysis of the I-81 Local Hire program (Jan 2023–Aug 2025), local workers comprised:
- 14.9% of workers,
- 13.9% of hours worked, and
- 11.7% of total wages on the I-81 project -
- Meeting the 15% local hire goal by worker count and slightly less than the goal for total work hours.
Of the 263 local workers, more than 200 were people of color, from the city or the Onondaga Nation. And more than $10 million in wages have been paid to local workers, helping local communities – the ultimate goal. Additionally, more than 31% of apprentices working on the project are local, increasing access to union membership for workers, a key to future career opportunities.
“So really what this says is not only did this work, but it worked for who we intended it to work for. I think, which is even more important.”
The report also shows local hiring for I-81 contracts was more than twice the level of other recent public projects at the Lakeview Amphitheater (6.4% local workers) and the New York State Fair Expo Center (5.88%).
The initiative did not come without cost in public investment. Contractors are promised $20.00 to $30.00 of wage reimbursement to hire local workers, who have to reside in the City of Syracuse or on the Onondaga nation. The higher reimbursement was for workers who also faced one of the following barriers to employment.
- a custodial single parent
- receive federally funded housing assistance
- receive HEAP, SNAP, or Medicaid
- lack a GED or high school diploma
- have a criminal conviction
- be emancipated from the foster care system
