Tagged: infrastructure

The dozens of sticky notes mean the jury is still out.

The tabs of paper were posted next to five options Wednesday afternoon. Each represents a different future for the stretch of Interstate 81 that runs through downtown Syracuse.

Transportation planners from the I-81 Challenge began a second round of community meetings Wednesday. The public input they gather will help decide the aging highway's fate.

The magic number for the future of Interstate 81 in downtown Syracuse is five:

Five different options, with a final decision five years away.

Tomorrow afternoon transportation planners from the I-81 Challenge will present a broad set of options for what to do about the aging, elevated portion of I-81 known locally as "the viaduct."

After that, planning officials begin the process of collecting the public's opinion.

Ken Simonson is on a road trip to lobby for an increase in government investment in infrastructure projects.

Tuesday morning he stood in front of equipment at Milton Caterpillar in Syracuse and said “It’s great to see all this magnificent construction equipment, but it would be even better to see it in action.”

Simonson is the chief economists for the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), a trade group. He highlighted Syracuse as one of four metro areas that have struggled more than most to regain jobs in constructions.

Binghamton has started to recover from its disastrous flood, and the list of necessary repairs is long, and expensive:

• Nine sinkholes have been found so far on Binghamton's roads
• As much as $25 million in damage have been done to the sewage treatment plant
• The city has racked up at least $2.35 million in other costs.

Mid-twentieth century Syracuse was confronted with something new and modern: a plan for an elevated interstate running through the heart of the city. Now, the 'Cuse is trying to imagine what life might be like without it.

"The Viaduct," as the elevated portion of Interstate-81 is known, was completed in the late '60s. It's now nearing its expiration date.