Posted on 02/13/2021 12:11:40 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Syracuse, N.Y. -- The state’s $2 billion plans to transform Interstate 81 could prove an archetypal example of how a federal highway project can both solve transportation problems and rebuild city neighborhoods that lost out when the massive roadways were built.
That’s the feeling that Mayor Ben Walsh said he had today after meeting for an hour with two members of U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s staff.
“Overall it was very encouraging,” Walsh said this evening. “They see I-81 as a prime candidate for a demonstration on how to do federal transportation projects the right way.”
The meeting comes as Buttigieg, a former mayor, has said he wants to use infrastructure projects to help the people, businesses and communities -- often home to minorities -- who were displaced or disrupted when the federal highway system was built.
The I-81 project in Syracuse, like many other projects around the country, fits much of that description. The highway’s construction in the late 1950s and 1960s came during a time of so-called urban renewal, when projects took precedent over part of an African-American neighborhood.
Now the state is proposing to remove an aging 1.4-mile section of elevated highway that splits Syracuse from the University Hill and runs directly over one of the country’s oldest public housing complexes. The plan calls for rerouting highway traffic onto Interstate 481, which loops the city’s eastern side. Part of Interstate 690 near I-81 would also come down and be rebuilt to be straighter, with new exits to take people downtown and to Syracuse University and nearby hospitals.
Walsh said today’s discussion was about the project -- and also the people it could help.
(Excerpt) Read more at syracuse.com ...
Social engineering boondoggle.
Your tax dollars at waste.
What is “a dollor”?
Why we need a project labor agreement on Interstate 81 (Commentary) (2/3/21)
Labor agreement for I-81 will raise costs and sideline local workers (Commentary) (1/25/21)
I-81 construction plans still in environmental review (1/19/21)
I cannot speak for Syracuse, NY, but I-81 near Scranton, PA is a disaster and should be supplemented, expanded or rebuilt.
PING!
Can they restore the land that used to be a farm and is now covered by asphalt, concrete and businesses? Wildlife used to have a section of land that was dense habitat for all kinds of critters.
We used to have a nice piece of land that got carved up by an interstate freeway way back in the early 60s. Can we get reparations for that too, Butty? It’s only fair. The land was literally seized and there was no recourse. Progress can hurt sometimes... and not just humans.
They worked on the northern portion of that stretch (north of the I-84/I-380/US 6 interchange), but only to rehabilitate it, not widen it.
I remember when the elevated section of I-93 in Boston came down and was replaced by underground tunnels (a/k/a "Big Dig")
A total boondoggle for sure and billions of taxpayer dollars over-budget as many palms got greased. But the real mistake was building the elevated section in the first place.
The underground I-93 (with connections to Logan Airport and Mass Pike) is much better and should have been done in the first place.
First, rebuild what you have. NY I-88 is being done at a ridiculously sow rate.
Pete wants bike paths on interstates...
If I-81 isn’t fixed soon, elevated section will be shut down completely and Syracuse will effectively die. Not that I (who grew up nearby) find this concerning.
This will be, yet another shining example, of kickbacks, bribes and never ending work on something that should be handled at a local level.
Let the Trump family do the deal and the have Walsh and Buttigeg do it. See who gets it done cheaper and on time.
Good time to note that the local Indian tribe is perpetually suing to reclaim half the city over broken treaties.
The entirety of I-81 in PA is a good place to die.
I’ll bite. What is it?
Long as grass grows and wind blows (or we find gold) in extremely small print. You can substitute Interstate, development, condominiums, or whatever political term trips your trigger and have a nice day. 🙄
This will increase carbon emission!
They should immediately stop all highway constructions!
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