The New York Department of Transportation recently published the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the estimated $2.25 billion Interstate 81 Viaduct Project in Syracuse.
Working with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration, the department prepared the statement after holding public hearings and contacting stakeholders.
The project, which will break ground in the fall, was modified based on public feedback. Business Loop 81 will no longer connect to Martin Luther King Junior East (MLK Jr. East), and a planned roundabout for MLK Jr. East near the Dr. King Elementary School was scrapped.
A roundabout is now proposed at the intersection of Van Buren and Almond streets.
The project will remove the existing elevated structure and replace it with a new business loop and a grid that will disperse traffic along local north-south and east-west streets.
Work includes a reconfigured I-690 West Street exit, an improved Exit 3, a new northbound off-ramp from Business Loop 81 to Colvin Street, improvements to Bear Street, a new full interchange on I-690 at Crouse and Irving avenues, a new third lane on I-481 between the NYS Thruway and I-690, and the reconstruction of Almond Street.