CICERO, N.Y. — Construction crews have completed work on the new $18 million flyover ramp that passes over the mainline of Interstate 81 (I-81) and carries traffic from future Business Loop 81 northbound to I-81 northbound in the Town of Cicero.
It opened Tuesday afternoon to traffic destined for the northern suburbs of Onondaga County, Oswego County, the North Country, or Canada, the office of Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Tuesday.
The state views the completion as a “major infrastructure milestone” associated with the Interstate 81 (I-81) viaduct-replacement project in Syracuse.
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Marie Therese Dominguez, commissioner of the New York State Department of Transportation, spoke with reporters about the project in Cicero on Tuesday.
The direct-connect ramp is in the footprint of the first of eight contracts associated with the I-81 project and focuses on the reconstruction of the existing Interstate 481/I-81 northern interchange to the re-designated I-81 and Business Loop 81, Hochul’s office said.
The flyover ramp, which is about one-half mile in length, serves as a high-speed connection for travelers leaving the city of Syracuse and its northern suburbs to I-81 north. Crews will install concrete noise barriers along the northeast side of the bridge along the ramp.
Construction of a second flyover bridge is also underway, creating a connection for motorists to bypass downtown Syracuse using the redesignated I-81 northbound to State Route 481 northbound, helping to maintain an “uninterrupted route to the densely populated, and fast-growing” communities of northern Onondaga County and the Oswego County cities of Fulton and Oswego, per the announcement.
Workers are on track to complete the northern interchange by the end of 2025. All five phase-one contracts associated with the I-81 project are now in construction, “representing a significant benchmark in the project’s progress,” the state contends.
