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Options for Replacing the I-81 Viaduct Options for Replacing the I-81 Viaduct

By Zachary Levine

Zach: It’s a tangled maze of concrete. Overpasses, underpasses, cars whizzing by…As it stands, the I-81 viaduct through downtown syracuse dating back to 1957 is falling apart…Should officials tear it down and integrate the highway onto city streets in what they are calling the community grid option, or build a brand new viaduct?

Alice: So, the community grid presents the best options all around for increased accessibility, inclusive growth, and, arguably, the most importantly, it provides the best solution to connect neighborhoods.

Zach: Alice Maggiore is the communications director at the Downtown Committee of Syracuse, an organization that promotes of the revitalization of the inner city.

Alice: By bringing that highway down to street level, you have increased opportunities for connections between Downtown and the University Hill community.

Zach: Now, as important as it is to revitalize this Downtown area, a lot of people who work down here just want to get to their jobs.

Mike: As a commuter who lives in the suburbs, my biggest priority is the commute time.

Zach: Mike Riccardi works at Terakeet, a business based in Downtown Syracuse. He’s against the community grid option.

Mike: There’s no sugar-coating it. 81 dissected the city and created issues for the other side. I don’t think righting a wrong 50-years later is the solution to that.

Zach: With Senator Kirsten Gillibrand throwing her support behind the community grid option earlier this week, even more fuel has been added to this already-contentious debate.

Mike: There’s only so much time for a community input before that highway collapses.

Zach: In Syracuse, Zachary Levine, NCC News.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announced her support for the community grid option earlier this week. As her commentary brings the stalled project back into light, a key player weighed in on their thoughts about the project.

“The community grid presents the best options all around for increased accessibility, inclusive growth, and, arguably, the most importantly, it provides the best solution to connect neighborhoods,” said Alice Maggiore, the Communications Director at the Downtown Committee of Syracuse, an organization that promotes of the revitalization of the inner city.

“By bringing that highway down to street level, you have increased opportunities for connections between Downtown and the University Hill community,” she said.

Still, while the community grid option is supported by many who work to bring business Downtown, some commuters aren’t buying it.

“As a commuter who lives in the suburbs, my biggest priority is the commute time,” said Mike Riccardi, who works Downtown.

“There’s no sugar-coating it. 81 dissected the city and created issues for the other side. I don’t think righting a wrong 50-years later is the solution to that,” he said.

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