The massive project to tear down the elevated Interstate 81 in Syracuse is scheduled to happen in 8 stages worth $2.25 billion from now until the end of 2028. The state Department of Transportation has estimated the start and end times for each stage, highlighted below.
The DOT broke the massive project into 8 different contracts, to be completed by separate teams of workers on separate stretches of highway.
The end goal is to tear down the elevated 1.4-mile bridge that runs through downtown and disperse traffic throughout city streets. But first, the state is reworking the city’s ring road - Interstate 481 - to handle more high-speed traffic around the city. The project also comes with millions of dollars worth of improvements to bridges over I-81 and sidewalks, lighting and bike paths along the highway.
Work has already begun at the northern and southern interchanges, where I-81 connects with I-481. The state DOT has announced the winner of the fourth contract, for work on part of I-690 and roads leading to Syracuse University.
This table shows the projected start and end dates for each contract.
Eventually, I-481 will be renamed I-81 and the current I-81 will be called Business Loop 81. Those future names are used in the table.
This map shows the overall project area. The numbers in colored boxes refer to the contract in the grid above.
This map zooms in on downtown Syracuse.
Contract 1: Northern Interchange
The I-81 project started in January 2023, when the state awarded the first contract to a group of companies working under the name Salt City Constructors.
It’s a $296.4 million contract. The team includes Lancaster Development and Tully Construction, doing business as L&T Construction; D.A. Collins Construction Co. and Cold Spring Construction Co.
The work started in the summer of 2023 at the northern interchange, where the current I-81 and I-481 meet. The graphic below shows the changes.
The interchange will be rebuilt for vehicles to connect from I-81 to I-481 at higher speeds. The idea is to direct high-speed traffic around the city before the state tears down the elevated I-81 overpass in downtown Syracuse.
This work also adds lanes, noise barriers and other improvements to existing I-481 from the northern interchange to Kirkville Road.
The estimated end date is late 2025, according to the state DOT.
- A: Existing northern interchange between I-81 and I-481 will be reconfigured so that future I-81 will be two lanes in each direction with a 65 mph speed limit.
- B: Existing I-481 will be renamed I-81.
- C: Existing I-81 between the northern and southern interchanges with existing I-481 will be renamed Business Loop 81.
- D: 481 from the interchange west will continue to be named State Route 481.
Contract 2: Southern Interchange
Construction began in summer 2023 at the southern interchange, where existing I-81 meets I-481 south of Syracuse.
That contract went to a group of contractors calling themselves CNY Alliance.
The group includes A.Servidone, Inc./B. Anthony Construction Corp., JV Rifenburg Construction Corp. and Economy Paving Co.
The contract is worth $384.5 million.
This contract reworks the southern interchange of I-81 and the existing I-481 to handle more traffic that will be routed around the city. The work is generally from the I-481 interchange south of Syracuse to Kirkville Road.
This work will also introduce new roundabouts on city streets.
The first one will be on Brighton Avenue.
This work will change the way drivers heading from the existing I-481 south into Syracuse will access I-81. The current ramp will be eliminated. Instead, drivers will exit what is now I-481 at Brighton Avenue, drive through a roundabout and enter I-81 at a new entrance on East Glen Avenue, which will be moved slightly.
The state plans to build another roundabout slightly south of the first one on Brighton Avenue that will be used by drivers to get to Rock Cut Road and the ramp to the existing I-481 north.
This video shows how the roundabouts work:
The second contract will also change traffic patterns at Exit 3, near Wegmans in DeWitt.
The plan is to eliminate the exit ramp used by southbound motorists to leave what is now I-481 and drive east toward Fayetteville and Manlius. Instead, drivers headed both east and west on Route 5 will use the same exit. It will end in four lanes at a new traffic signal on Route 5.
The state also plans to add a lane at Lyndon Corners, creating two lanes for drivers to turn onto Route 92 toward Manlius. The road will drop quickly back to one lane before the pedestrian walkway at the golf course.
That project is expected to begin in the spring of 2025 and be completed by the end of 2025.
The video and images below explain changes to the DeWitt exit and Lyndon Corners.
Current design of Exit 3 in DeWitt
New design of Exit 3 in DeWitt
- E: Off-ramp from existing I-481 (future I-81) south to Routes 5/92 eastbound will be removed.
- F: Off-ramp from existing I-481 (future I-81) south to Routes 5/92 westbound will be widened to two lanes and then four lanes as it approaches Routes 5/92 (East Genesee Street), giving access to both westbound and eastbound directions.
- G: New signal light at the intersection will control traffic flow.
- H: On-ramp from Routes 5/92 westbound to future I-81 north will be extended to Kinne Road.
Contract 3: Destiny USA and the Inner Harbor
The third contract will rework access from I-81 to Destiny USA, the Inner Harbor and the North Side. Some exits will be closed and a new interchange will be built at Bear Street as part of this step and Contract 7.
The state also plans to improve North Clinton Street for use as a more frequent route from downtown to the Inner Harbor and Destiny USA neighborhood.
Four bridges will be replaced over the highway between the mall and downtown. They are at Bear, Court, Spencer and Butternut streets. The bridges at Bear, Court and Spencer streets are part of the third contract. The Butternut Street bridge work is in the seventh contract.
Salt City Constructors won the $218.9 million contract.
The red line below outlines the new entry point. Northbound on- and off-ramps are planned for Bear Street as part of the seventh contract, starting in 2026 and ending in late 2028. Southbound drivers will enter and exit the highway at North Clinton Street. That work is scheduled as part of the third contract, expected to start next year.
Between the mall and downtown, the state plans to replace four bridges over the highway. They are circled in red below. New bridges at Bear, Court, Spencer and Butternut streets are designed with sidewalks, giving people on the North Side safer access to the Inner Harbor. The bridges at Bear, Court and Spencer streets are part of the third contract. The Butternut Street bridge work is in the seventh contract.
The stretch of North Clinton Street in the red box below will be lined with shared-use bike and pedestrian paths to be built off the street and buffered by trees. There will also be new street parking. The hope is that drivers will use this route instead of the highway to get from downtown to the Inner Harbor or Destiny USA. That is how the concept of a “community grid” works.
Contract 4: New I-690 Crouse exit
The state plans to build a new interchange on I-690 at Crouse and Irving avenues. This will give drivers a new, more direct route to Syracuse University and the hospitals. The goal is to have this exit functioning before the elevated I-81 is torn down.
Contract 4 originally included work on the entrances and exits on both Crouse and Irving Avenues. Work on Irving is now moved to Contract 6. DOT planners thought it made better sense to do that work at the same time they are reworking the whole stretch of I-690 east from Destiny USA to downtown.
The Crouse Avenue work is still scheduled for Contract 4.
Once the interchange is built, drivers coming from the west (or Baldwinsville) will be able to exit at Irving Avenue. Drivers heading east (from Manlius) will be able to exit the highway at Crouse Avenue.
Once the Crouse Avenue exit is complete, the state will close the exit and entrance at McBride and Townsend streets.
The state announced the winner of this bid Friday. This stretch of highway will be built by CNY Alliance, the same contractors working on the second contract.
The contract is worth $313.5 million.
This work is scheduled to begin this year and end in late 2025.
This video explains how that new interchange will work:
Contract 5: New roundabout at Van Buren Street
This work is on the stretch of I-81 from the southern interchange into downtown Syracuse. The idea here is to slow traffic as it approaches the street-level grid for the first time.
Activists successfully pushed the state to move that entry point north, away from Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School. Now, traffic dropping to street level will travel through a roundabout at Van Buren Street.
State officials say they are eager to start talking to neighbors about designs for this roundabout. That could include landscaping and signs that welcome drivers to Syracuse. It is likely to include a pedestrian crosswalk. The community will also have a say in designing murals for noise barriers, officials have said.
Contract 6: West Street
Contract 6 heads over to the West Side of Syracuse.
This work would redesign the interchange between I-81 and I-690 near West Street.
This includes the removal of the ramps from West Street to Herald Place and from North Franklin Street to West Street. West Street would be lowered to meet Genesee Street, south of the new interchange.
The goal is to bring traffic to street level and open access, and even the view, from the west side to downtown. Road and sidewalk improvements would better connect the Leavenworth and Park Avenue neighborhoods with Armory Square and downtown.
This part of the project also includes proposed new overlooks along the Creekwalk.
This contract also finishes the work on the new exit from I-690 to Crouse and Irving avenues east of downtown. The state plans to build a new Irving Avenue exit and extend Irving Avenue all the way from the Syracuse University campus to I-690. This will be used by drivers who live west of Syracuse. (The Crouse Avenue exit is in Contract 4.)
It starts in 2026 and ends in 2028.
Contract 7: Bear Street
This contract continues work that started on the third contract near Destiny USA and the Inner Harbor. Generally, this contract rebuilds exits and entrances north of I-81 and funnels traffic to one new interchange at Bear Street.
The state plans to close the southbound on- and off-ramps at Genant Street; the northbound on- and off-ramps at Sunset Avenue and the State Street ramp to northbound 81.
Along with the work in the third contract, city officials say this project has the potential to inspire a new neighborhood of housing and shops near the Inner Harbor. The state plans to rebuild North Clinton Street, which is largely vacant, to handle cars, bikes, pedestrians and more parking. Drivers could use this street as a more direct route from downtown or Franklin Square to the lakefront.
This work is scheduled to begin in 2026 and end in 2028.
Contract 8: The viaduct
Finally, this last contract takes care of the problem that started this project. The state and federal governments have announced a plan that would tear down the aging elevated highway through downtown Syracuse and send traffic to street level.
That work is scheduled to begin in 2026 and end in late 2028.
The city of Syracuse will be left with an improved Almond Street to carry traffic north and south. The city is also exploring opportunities to change other traffic patterns and to use vacant land freed up by the removal of the highway.
Editor’s note: This story was updated July 26 to include Economy Paving Co. among the three companies that make up CNY Alliance. Crane-Hogan Structural Systems is a sub-contractor on those projects, but not one of the three member companies.
More about the Interstate 81 project
- Legislator: We need more air monitors tracking I-81 pollution (Guest Opinion by Charles Garland)
- Developers begin environmental cleanup for senior apartments in new East Adams neighborhood
- New I-81 ramp to I-481 in Cicero to open Tuesday
- Demolition begins as Syracuse’s old public housing makes way for new East Adams neighborhood (video)
- A Cicero driver asks the DOT: Who thought it was a good idea to do so much construction at once? (video)
If you’re following the project, bookmark this timeline and check back for updates.
Contact Michelle Breidenbach | mbreidenbach@syracuse.com | 315-470-3186.
