New York state Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday confirmed that a contentious tunnel option for the replacement of a raised portion of Interstate 81 in Syracuse will be considered in a draft environmental impact statement.

The I-81 viaduct, which bisects the city and a public housing complex near Syracuse University’s Main Campus, is considered structurally deficient in several spots.

State officials are considering different replacement options for the stretch of highway. In 2016, the New York State Department of Transportation narrowed those options down to two from the 16 originally presented in 2014, eliminating several tunnel options from consideration.

But under political pressure from New York State Senate Deputy Majority Leader, Republican John DeFrancisco, Cuomo in January 2017 announced that a consultant would conduct an independent study to review the possibility of tunneling underneath Syracuse. The study, released in early December, analyzed four possibilities. Out of those, consultants found that an “Orange” tunnel option would be feasible, but expensive.

“In Syracuse, we will do a DEIS for Route 81 as a tunnel and/or a community grid so we can look at both options,” Cuomo said in his State of the State speech in Albany on Wednesday. Syracuse’s new mayor, Ben Walsh, and Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney were in attendance.

That tunnel would cost between $3 billion and $4.5 billion, according to the study by multinational engineering consultant WSP. The Orange route would pass underneath “unused space” at SU’s steam station and chilled water plant, per the study. Main Campus is heated by the steam station and SU sells some of its steam to local hospitals and the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry.

In a statement Wednesday evening, DOT spokesman Joseph Morrissey said, “The preliminary DEIS with a preferred alternative can be available for FHWA (Federal Highway Administration) and agency reviews sometime in early 2019.” Originally, a DEIS was expected to be released at the start of 2017.

Walsh and several other local politicians have said they support a community grid option for replacing I-81. The grid option would cost an estimated $1.3 billion, significantly less than a possible Orange tunnel. A grid concept would destroy the viaduct and redirect highway traffic east around Syracuse on Interstate 481. Cuomo said the state would also review the grid option in its DEIS.

But the governor made no mention of a widening concept for replacing the city’s viaduct. That option, which would simply replace I-81 with a wider highway, could cost an estimated $1.7 billion.

The new mayor in late September, during his campaign, held a rally on Almond Street near I-81. He called on state officials to release the DEIS and said the grid is the “only option” for replacing the highway.

“We are continuing to debate whether or not we want to double down on 20th century infrastructure while we’re in a 21st century economy,” Walsh said at the time. “It makes no sense to me.”

Published on January 3, 2018 at 10:53 pm

Contact Sam: sfogozal@syr.edu | @SamOgozalek