SYRACUSE, N.Y. — By now, your daily commute has likely already been impacted by the ongoing construction on Interstates 81 and 481 through and around Syracuse.
Work is underway on four of the eight different constructions contracts with some staggering statistics. More than 15 million pounds of steel is being used in just the first five contracts in the $2.25 billion dollar infrastructure investment.
All of it is culminating in the largest road construction project in New York State Department of Transportation history. CNY Central got the unique chance to take you inside the construction zone of the Interstate 81 project that will transform Syracuse and the entire region.
At the Northern interchange where Interstate 81 meets I-481 in Cicero, it’s hard to avoid the constant drum of heavy machines. Our CNY Central cameras were there, capturing the moment a steel beam was hoisted into place. “This project is really the project of a career for a civil engineer,” said Betsy Parmley, I-81 Project Director for the New York State Department of Transportation.
The beam was just part of the foundation to support a new bridge at the Northern interchange, paving the way for the Future of I-81. “We spend years as civil engineers designing things, watching it get built. A project of this magnitude is unlike any of us have experienced on the team,” Parmley said.
Parmley is the woman in charge of the largest infrastructure project in New York State DOT history. She grew up playing with Legos and Lincoln Logs, interests which put her on the path to becoming a successful civil engineer. In her role, Parmley is responsible for everything from the construction to design and keeping the community informed.
She calls the project ‘transformational’ for the community because the work that is currently underway is only just the beginning. It is the first step in eventually removing the mile-long stretch of Interstate 81 through downtown Syracuse, a viaduct that has divided our community for more than 50 years.
If you’ve ever walked or driven below the viaduct….It’s literally a shadow over a community. And by removing that shadow, we will be improving the quality of people’s lives.
What is now steel and concrete over downtown Syracuse will be replaced with sidewalks, lighting, bike paths and trees. But before that can happen, there’s a lot of work to get done.
From the Northern interchange to the south, construction of the new 81 Business Loop is already underway. Highway speed traffic on what is now I-81 north will eventually split into one path taking drivers through downtown Syracuse onto the new Community Grid with highway speed traffic veering to the right onto what is now 481. That will be called Business Loop 81.
Parmley said they have to build up capacity on the outskirts of the city to create that new Business Loop before the elevated section of 81 can come down. “In order for us to take down a viaduct in downtown Syracuse which is really only about a mile long, we recognized that we had to make some improvements along 481,” Parmley said.
The project features a new way for Central New Yorkers to get around including a new roundabout on East Brighton Avenue. Parmley says one of the biggest concerns she gets from drivers is how much longer it will take them to get from Point A to Point B. “They think it’ll take them an extra hour or something like that to get where they need to go. Our traffic studies show maybe 4 or 5 minutes longer,” she said.
The other big question is when construction will be complete. “If you’re traveling on I-481, if that’s one of your travel patterns, we should be out of your way by the end of 2025, maybe mid-2026,” she said. The construction shifts full gear to downtown Syracuse by the end of 2026 or 2027 to the elevated section of highway that sparked the entire multi-billion dollar project.
Construction on the Community Grid should be complete by 2028. So for the foreseeable future, buckle up for year-round construction.
You can learn more about the project at an open house on Thursday, September 26 from 6-8 p.m. at the Central New York Biotech Accelerator at Upstate University Hospital on East Fayette Street. The State DOT will discuss Contract 4 which focuses on the construction of the Community Grid on the Eastside of Syracuse. They will discuss the new interchange at Crouse Avenue, reconstruction of city streets, the construction schedule and more.