New York State Department of Transportation released an environmental impact statement this week detailing plans to demolish the Interstate 81 viaduct and replace it with a community grid. Here are five takeaways from the report:

The I-81 viaduct near Syracuse University would be torn down

The report recommends that a 1.4-mile section of the viaduct be torn down and traffic be redirected on city streets, referred to as the community grid. Traffic on I-81 would be redirected onto Interstate 481, which would be renamed I-81. The viaduct is being torn down because it reached the end of its usable life in 2017.

Construction of the community grid would take five years

The demolition of the I-81 viaduct and construction of the community grid is expected to take five years. The project, which is divided into two phases, will see the reconstruction of portions of several streets in the University Hill area, including Irving and Crouse avenues. The interchange between Interstate 690 and I-81 will also be reconstructed, and improvements will need to be made to I-481.

The project is expected to cost nearly $2 billion

The total cost of the community grid project is estimated to be $1.9 million. A rebuild of the current viaduct, an option considered by the transportation department, would cost $2.2 billion. An underground tunnel replacement, which NYSDOT rejected as “unreasonable,” would cost $4.9 billion.

The community grid will not displace homes

Building the community grid would not displace any people who lives near the current I-81 viaduct, according to the report. The viaduct reconstruction option would have forced 527 people to relocate.

Construction of the grid will only displace 35 employees working in three business near the current viaduct.

The plan to demolish the viaduct isn’t final

The plan to demolish the viaduct and build a community grid isn’t final. There will be a public hearing and a 45-day comment period on the plan, where community members can voice their thoughts on the project. The state will release a final impact statement after the comment period ends.

Published on April 25, 2019 at 12:12 am

Contact Jordan: jmulle01@syr.edu | @jordanmuller18