One of the next major components of the I-81 project doesn’t involve the highway at all. Crews are going below ground to install a massive stormwater trunkline, which doesn’t sound like it would be part of the project to replace the viaduct.
“Basically we need to collect the stormwater runoff from all of the interstates," explained NYS Department of Transportation regional director Elizabeth Parmley.
That means they need a really big pipe, bigger and deeper than what was just installed on Erie Boulevard between Crouse Ave. and Almond Street, she said.
“So something like an 8 to 10 foot diameter pipe, 15 to 20 feet below the road surface. So pretty deep excavation.”
Parmley said the trunkline separates stormwater from sewage to reduce overflows into Onondaga Creek during heavy rains when the treatment plant can’t handle the volume. She said they told the contractor to build the pipe in phases as it zig-zags its way downtown along six different streets from Almond and Water Streets to Herald Place near the creek.
"They can't just go for three or four blocks at a time, close the road, and not have any access to anything," Parmley said. "They can go a block or two at a time where there's a reasonable detour to get around.”
She said the plan they’re following allows access to businesses.
“There are some streets that some of the businesses only have a front door. And for us to do this work outside their front door, it would be pretty limiting," Parmley said. "So we actually picked a path where they had a front door and a back door, working with these business owners to understand how do they get deliveries, how do people access their business to make sure we're incorporating that into our plans.”
Still, digging as much as 30 feet deep under a mile of busy downtown streets is sure to disrupt car, bike, and foot traffic. Parmley said the work should begin this fall.
Here's a list of the affected streets:
- Almond Street between Erie Boulevard East and East Water Street
- East Water Street between Almond Street and State Street
- South State Street between East Water Street and Erie Boulevard East
- Erie Boulevard East between South State Street and North Salina Street
- North Salina Street between Erie Boulevard East and Herald Place
- Herald Place between North Salina Street and Wallace Street
