Archive: News

The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) announced Tuesday that the initial I-81 Viaduct Project Advisory Working Group presentations are now available online. The presentations focus on the tunnel alternative, one of the alternatives being considered as part of a comprehensive environmental review of the project being developed to upgrade the 50-year-old highway viaduct through downtown Syracuse.

Preliminary concepts for the tunnel alternative were discussed earlier this month during the first meetings of the Community and Economic Development Advisory Working Group, and the Sustainability Advisory Working Group. The working groups will meet once a month.

NYSDOT will be holding a public project update meeting on Thursday, May 1 at the Hosmer Auditorium of the Everson Museum at 401 Harrison Street in Syracuse, starting at 4 p.m. Interstate 81 Viaduct Project Director Mark Frechette, P.E. will update the public on the alternatives under consideration. The first presentation will start at 4 p.m., and it will be repeated at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Work on the alternatives will continue throughout the spring and more details will be presented at a second project scoping meeting, which will be scheduled for this summer.  Scoping is the public process used to identify the major issues and reasonable and feasible alternatives that will be considered during the I-81 environmental review.  It is one of the first steps in the development of an Environmental Impact Statement, which the state and federal government requires to detail the project development process.  That document must include consideration of a range of reasonable project alternatives, analysis of those alternatives and the demonstration of compliance with state and federal laws.

v10i16