State DOT Endorses Community Grid Plan For I-81 Replacement

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — A state Department of Transportation report supports tearing down the elevated section of Interstate 81 in downtown Syracuse and replacing it with a ground-level community grid.

The draft environmental impact statement released Monday by the DOT says the community grid is the preferred option for the aging 1.2-mile viaduct section of the highway. The other two options were reconstruction of the viaduct or building a tunnel.

Under the community grid option, the 60-year-old elevated section of I-81 would be replaced with a network of city streets and interstate traffic would be diverted around the downtown district via I-481.

The report doesn't include a start date for the project, which is expected to cost about $2 billion. Public meetings on the proposed project will be held starting in June.