The Onondaga County Supervisors and Mayors’ associations advocated for two possible replacements to an aging Interstate 81 viaduct in Syracuse that would keep the highway’s current route through the center of the city.

The associations called for a hybrid tunnel or a new viaduct, which they said would maintain high-speed access on I-81, according to a press release sent out Thursday afternoon by both groups.

Discussions on how to replace the current viaduct, which reached the end of its usable life in 2017, have continued for ten years. The New York State Department of Transportation is currently assessing the feasibility of three major options — a community grid, a tunnel or a new viaduct — and many officials expect to hear back from the state in early 2019.

“Our motivation for wanting Interstate 81 to continue along its current alignment stems from our desire to preserve the quality of life within Central New York, and to ensure that our local economy is poised for growth into the future,” the Onondaga County Supervisors Association wrote in its letter.

A hybrid tunnel would incorporate both a community grid for locals looking to access the city and a tunnel that would allow through traffic to pass underneath the city, per the joint release.

A new viaduct would be 10 feet taller and 16 feet wider than the current one, according to a New York State Department of Transportation scoping report. It would cost approximately $1.7 billion, Syracuse.com reported.

Many Syracuse officials, including Mayor Ben Walsh, have advocated for a community grid, which would funnel traffic through city streets along the same route the viaduct currently runs. Syracuse’s Common Council passed an unanimous resolution in 2015 that called on the state to support the community grid option, Syracuse.com reported. The community grid would cost approximately $1.3 billion, per Syracuse.com.

Only implementing the community grid option would create more traffic during peak hours and affect commuters, according to the Onondaga County Mayors’ Association letter.

“The fact of the matter is that we need to keep traffic moving in Downtown Syracuse and to the surrounding communities,” the Mayors’ Association wrote. “While this could be achieved by building a new viaduct or a tunnel, it is clear that a community grid system alone will not accomplish this.”

Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered the NYSDOT in January 2017 to review the tunnel option, which was previously found to be too expensive. It would cost between $3.2 billion and $4.5 billion to build, according to a study conducted by WSP/Parsons Brinckerhoff, Syracuse.com reported.

“It is clear that removing the existing highway altogether, diverting traffic to the east on Interstate 481 and relying on city streets to convey large volumes of local, regional and long-distance traffic would inevitably harm residents in the city and surrounding communities alike,” the Onondaga County Supervisors Association wrote.

Published on December 21, 2018 at 11:35 am

Contact Gabe: gkstern@syr.edu | @gabestern326