Pieces of the I-81 replacement project continue to fall into place as new ramps and bridges have opened in the last month. They include the Crouse Ave. ramp to I-690 eastbound, I-81 southbound on- and off-ramps at Clinton St, and a new Spencer St. bridge over I-81. So, what can drivers expect next?
I-81 project assistant Scott Butler recently told Syracuse common councilors in the immediate future, crews are re-establishing a connection at the southern interchange with I-481.
“We're getting close to having what is currently 481 to 81 south, that should be open hopefully by the first of the year, if not pretty soon after," he said.
Heading north, the state DOT recently opened an on-ramp from Crouse Avenue to I-690 eastbound. Butler said it’s only the beginning of a complete set of ramps to create a new gateway to University Hill.
“We're building the new on and off-ramps to go east and west on the 690," he said. "But we're also reconstructing Crouse and Irving Avenue, extending Irving Avenue all the way through from Fayette to Erie Boulevard, which doesn't exist today, as well as turning both Crouse and Irving into two-way streets up to Adams Street.”
That work should be finished by mid-2027. To the west on I-690, the DOT is designing a new interchange with I-81.Deputy project director Michael Ryan said that includes removing all of the current connections as well as the West Street interchange.
“We won't have that large retaining wall anymore," he said. "West Street and Genesee Street is going to be just an open intersection with a signal. So it'll really start connecting the communities back together.
Right now, ramps take West Street above Genesee. Ryan said that part of the project will significantly disrupt traffic.
“While we're doing the reconstruction of I-690, we're going to be able to maintain traffic throughout the construction in the westbound direction," he said. "The eastbound direction will have to be detoured for a period of time, about a year and a half.”
While the exact timing of the detour is not yet clear, state DOT documents show the overall timeframe for that part of the project beginning in May and running through 2029.
