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NYS, local agencies aim to eliminate barriers to hiring local workers for I-81 project

NYS DOT Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez addresses the media. She was joined by Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon, white hard hat, and others at the southern interchange with I-481 Sept. 4, 2024
Scott Willis
/
WAER News
NYS DOT Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez addresses the media at the southern interchange with I-481 Sept. 4, 2024. She was joined by Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon, white hard hat, and others.

Syracuse residents interested in working on the I-81 project face fewer barriers as New York State and local agencies try to improve access. The project's local hire initiative is being lauded as an example for other states to follow.

The goal is to prioritize hiring residents from select Syracuse zip codes. But more workers are needed, and the state department of labor wants to make it easier to apply. Commissioner Roberta Reardon says they’ve created a jobseeker intake form to streamline the process.

“People had to come to us, go to the career center, get assessed, do all of that in person," Reardon said. "Now they can go online and fill out the form which indicates what they're interested in, basic information. So we reach out to them as soon as the form is filled out. It's already live, and I was just talking to my career center folks. We've had over 200 people come in through the form alone.”

Reardon says they also work with community partners to identify and overcome other barriers. Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez says that can be half the battle.

“So whether it's literally access to the job site, daycare, how do I make this all work? It's a totally different way of looking at a transportation project," Dominguez said.

Reardon agreed, saying the hurdles aren't impossible to address.

“This is what communities don't realize," Reardon said. "Because they often say well, there's no bus that goes there. Well, make one go there. You're going to have 100 workers. There are things you can do to address these problems.”

The commissioners say eliminating those barriers can make a generational difference on a community that’s been neglected for decades. The approach has been so successful that The Federal Highway Administration published a 36-page report using the I-81 viaduct project’s local hiring model as a roadmap for other states to follow.

A broader view of I-81 construction near the Loretto complex Sept. 4, 2024.
Scott Willis
/
WAER News
A broader view of I-81 construction near the Loretto complex Sept. 4, 2024.

Scott Willis covers politics, local government, transportation, and arts and culture for WAER. He came to Syracuse from Detroit in 2001, where he began his career in radio as an intern and freelance reporter. Scott is honored and privileged to bring the day’s news and in-depth feature reporting to WAER’s dedicated and generous listeners. You can find him on twitter @swillisWAER and email him at srwillis@syr.edu.