The New York State Department of Transportation announced its approval on Monday of the “community grid” option to replace Interstate 81’s aging viaduct.

The decision comes six years after NYSDOT began its review of the environmental consequences of three options to replace the I-81 viaduct, which reached the end of its usable life in 2017. Under the community grid plan, the current viaduct would be demolished and traffic would be redirected along city streets.

The summary states, in part:

“Based on a balanced consideration of the need for safe and efficient transportation; the social, economic, and environmental effects of the project alternatives; and national, state, and local environmental protection goals, the Community Grid Alternative would be selected as the preferred alternative.”

Construction of the community grid is estimated to cost $1.9 billion, according to NYSDOT’s executive summary of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Rebuilding the viaduct, an alternative considered by the department, would cost an estimated $2.2 billion.    

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Almond Street, which currently runs alongside the viaduct, would be expanded into a boulevard to carry the redirected traffic under NYSDOT’s recommended plan. A portion of Interstate 481 would become the new I-81, with two lanes going in each direction. The existing I-81 route would be changed to “Business Loop 81,” a limited access highway passing through the community grid and continuing on the current I-81 route.

The report considered the effects of each replacement method on “environmental justice communities,” or minority and low-income population groups. About 49% of Syracuse’s population identifies as an ethnic minority, with about 32% of the city’s residents living below the poverty level, according to data the study referenced from 2015.

“Neither the Viaduct nor the Community Grid Alternatives would result in disproportionately high and adverse effects on environmental justice communities,” according to the report.

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After studying three locations along Crouse and Burnet avenues to Crouse Avenue and Erie Boulevard; North West Street and West Genesee Street; and Almond Street and Harrison Street — all of which contain “environmental justice communities” — the report concluded that adverse effects on minority and low-income groups related to air quality are not anticipated.

“I am very glad that the DEIS is out, and I’m pleased that it identifies the Community Grid as the preferred alternative,” Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh said of the impact statement’s release.

Walsh, in an emailed statement, said his team will review the report in coming weeks, and that the city of Syracuse will “participate actively” in public spheres to ensure the region’s needs are addressed by NYSDOT.

The department’s plans are not final. There will be a public hearing on the impact statement and a 45-day public comment period. After the public comment period ends, NYSDOT will release a Final Environmental Impact Statement.

Save 81, a group dedicated to maintaining the viaduct’s current route, said in a statement that they were pleased that the DEIS was released publicly, but that they would still subject the current report to the same scrutiny that it did with another environmental impact statement from 2016.

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“We reiterate our support for uniting all segments of this community by maintaining Interstate 81’s current alignment in one form or another,” Save 81’s statement said.

Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon in a statement said that he’s reviewing the report, and that it is critical for mitigation measures to be taken to minimize negative impacts of any decision.

“We cannot allow a single decision to halt the momentum our community is experiencing,” Sayles said in the statement.

Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud endorsed the community grid option in an email to the campus community on Friday. The presidents of SUNY-ESF and SUNY Upstate Medical University announced their support for the grid on Monday.  

Syverud said the benefits of the community grid include:

• “Robust” connection between University Hill and downtown
• Better public transportation and public space options
• Environmental and financial sustainability
• “Minimal disruption” to housing, business and jobs during and after construction

This post will be updated with additional reporting.

Published on April 22, 2019 at 5:04 pm

Contact Kennedy: krose100@syr.edu | @KennedyRose001