The study recommendations will affect the community and client for the next 50 years

I-81 Corridor Study

The Interstate 81 corridor is metropolitan Syracuse’s primary north-south travel and commuter route. I-81 was built in the 1950s and needs to be upgraded, presenting the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) and the communities with many opportunities as ideas for improvements are developed. Public participation has been critical to the corridor study and will continue to have an important role as NYSDOT and other regional planning partners work to identify the community’s transportation needs, and enhance sustainability and environmental stewardship. The corridor study efforts have involved the metropolitan Syracuse community in a thoughtful, deliberative dialogue to study and evaluate various strategies based on documented transportation needs and contributing factors in the I-81 corridor.

The study was undertaken to identify the transportation system condition and environment, focusing mainly on I-81; to identify transportation and community needs; and to assess and identify potential strategies that are worthy of detailed evaluation. The intent is to consider a long range outlook to determine the best strategies to serve existing and future needs in the I-81 corridor.