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Cuomo State Of The State Part 4: I-81 Replacement Project To Break Ground In 2022

Scott Willis
/
WAER News

Governor Andrew Cuomo, in the last of four speeches outlining his 2021 plans, detailed billions of dollars in new and on-going infrastructure projects that the governor says he hopes can provide jobs in the post- COVID economy.   The I-81 project in Syracuse was mentioned as one of them.

Cuomo says the state will conduct an environmental and public review of its proposal to replace the Interstate 81 viaduct.   This is among the final, long-awaited state approvals needed for the project to finally begin.   He says the $1.9 billion project will connect communities and create opportunities for new residential and commercial development. The project is expected to break ground in 2022.

Elsewhere Upstate, the governor says an elevated walkway will be completed along the Hudson River in Albany, and the Blue Cross Arena exchange along the Genesee River in Rochester will be expanded.  A project to take down the skyway super highway in Buffalo along Lake Erie will also be completed later this year. 

And- a Legoland theme park will open in Orange County the Hudson Valley.

Credit Governor Cuomo's Flickr page
Gov. Cuomo's final part of his state of the state address focused on infrastructure.

But the bulk of the projects will be downstate, including plans to create a new West Side transit hub in Manhattan that would rebuild the rest of the dilapidated Penn Station, and revamp the New York Port Authority bus complex, which the governor describes as an “eyesore." He also wants to expand the Javits convention center by 50%, and  extend the popular High Line walkway. Cuomo also wants to continue the Second Avenue subway into Harlem, and complete a third track on the Long Island Railroad.

“We will make these investments at a time when the interest rates are low, and when New Yorkers are looking for work,” Cuomo said.

Cuomo says the projects total over $300 billion.