It’s been decades in the making. A groundbreaking was held Friday for the Interstate 81 project in downtown Syracuse.
Eventually, Interstate 81 will turn into a street-level boulevard that will run through downtown, which will be called the "I-81 Business Loop," while through traffic will be routed around the city onto what is currently Interstate 481. Work has already started on parts of the project, preparing exits north of the city. The tearing down of the crumbling elevated portion of the highway that runs through downtown is still in the hands of an appeals court judge. Speaking Friday, Gov. Kathy Hochul said the community has waited long enough to be unified.
"The stars have aligned, the time is now to move forward," said Hochul.
The groundbreaking took place, not where work is allowed to be done north of the city of Syracuse, but at the Dr. King Elementary School, located right next to the highway. That reflected the theme from all speakers, that the highway splintered a black community 70 years ago. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said taking down the viaduct rectifies that racist mistake.
When I-81 was built, it devastated and erased what was once the beating heart of Syracuse's Black community.
— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) July 21, 2023
Today we broke ground on the I-81 Viaduct Project, taking a historic step to right the wrongs of the past and weave back together neighborhoods torn apart decades ago. pic.twitter.com/pt2jsSt4KI
"The groundbreaking today starts to change that," said Schumer. "That's why this is such a profound national model. Not just because it's righting the wrongs of the fast past, but laying the foundation for a better, a much better future.”
I stood with @GovKathyHochul, Mayor Walsh, building trade unions to break ground on I-81 in Syracuse—one of the largest infrastructure projects in Upstate NY history
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) July 21, 2023
Thanks to our infrastructure law: I-81 will create thousands of union jobs, improve mobility, reconnect Syracuse pic.twitter.com/EIXaI3o3vg
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and White House Senior Advisor for Infrastructure Mitch Landrieu were on hand for the groundbreaking, along with Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh and other state and local officials.
The federal government is paying the lion’s share of the $2.25 billion project that will reroute traffic around the city and create a more interconnected neighborhood on Syracuse’s Southside.
