All options for the future of I-81 are currently on the table. Over the next several years, The I-81 Challenge will advance community discussion about I-81’s future. We’ve started by collecting information about the existing conditions of the highway and the regional transportation system, but that’s as far as we’ve gone. Next we’ll be reaching out to the community via workshops, small group meetings, and questionnaires to gain a better »

The primary study area for The I-81 Challenge is focused on I-81 from I-481 on the south to I-481 on the north along with the segment of I-690 from the West Street Interchange to the Teall Avenue Interchange. The overall study area for purposes of public participation and traffic modeling expands to cover the Syracuse Metropolitan Transportation Council (SMTC) Metropolitan Planning Area (MPA), which includes all of Onondaga County and small portions »

Pedestrian count data were collected in a focused area along the viaduct during November and December 2009 and February and March 2010. Within this area the combined peak hour total pedestrian counts were greater than 500.

Freeways have been constructed through the downtowns of many cities across the United States. Many of these highways were constructed in the 1960s or 1970s, and were intended to ensure economic viability in an era when suburban growth, along with car ownership and use, was accelerating. It was feared that without the direct connections that highways provided, cities would die. At the time, there were differing opinions about the decisions to locate »

We want to remind interested community organizations that the deadline for submitting an application for The I-81 Challenge’s Community Liaison Committee (CLC) is January 31 at 4:00 p.m. You can apply online here or request a hard-copy application by calling the SMTC at 422-5716 or e-mailing contactus@theI81challenge.org. The target size for the CLC is 40 members.  If more than 40 applications are received, the SMTC and NYSDOT, with input from »

I-81 was built in Central New York during the 1950s and 1960s for two main reasons: to carry through traffic between Pennsylvania and Canada and to bring local traffic in and out of Syracuse. The highway was the product of a vigorous federal road-building program that included the construction of many miles of interstate highways in every state across the country. The idea of the proposed highway, particularly through downtown Syracuse, was controversial. »

WCNY’s Central Issues recently broadcast a terrific three-part series about The I-81 Challenge as part of PBS’s Blueprint America, a national project investigating the state of America’s critical infrastructure. If you didn’t see them when they aired on October 4, 5 and 6, you can now watch all three episodes at your convenience. Click and learn “The History” (27 minutes), get “The Plan” (27 minutes), »

There are about 124 individual bridge spans that make up the viaduct portion of I-81. This snapshot highlights some of the deterioration that is setting in. For more info about bridge conditions along I-81, check out NYSDOT’s draft Technical Memorandum #1: Physical Conditions Analysis (Tech Memo #1).

Yesterday the SMTC and NYSDOT announced formation of The I-81 Challenge’s Community Liaison Committee (CLC). We’re inviting all community groups and organizations with an interest in the future of I-81 to submit an application. The application deadline is 4:00 p.m. on January 31 2011. The CLC is expected to meet about three times over the next two years. Interested organizations can apply online here or request a hard-copy application by calling »