NYSDOT, Syracuse awarded more than $180 million for neighborhoods around I-81 elevated viaduct
Summary
SYRACUSE, N.Y. U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has awarded the Interstate 81 (I-81) viaduct-replacement project more than $180 million for work in the neighborhoods surrounding the elevated portion of the highway.The funding award targets neighborhoods like the new 15th ward and Syracuses north side. After the I-81 viaduct comes down, these parts of the city will have modern safe complete streets, new and improved parks, greenery, and community infrastructure to have a brighter, more interconnected and dynamic future for the next generation of Syracuse residents, per the office of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (DN.Y. announced Monday.Schumer created the program in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), based on the work he and Gillibrand did creating the Reconnecting Communities program in the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Law, his office noted.The award makes the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) and City of Syracuse project dubbed I-81 Connecting Syracuse among the first in the nation to tap the program.This [more than] $180 million is about laying the foundation for the next generation in Syracuse. It will create new modern tree-lined streets, add new parks for our families, bike paths, and new opportunity, Schumer said in the news release. When I negotiated the Inflation Reduction Act, I knew we needed to increase funding to the critical reconnecting communities initiatives, so places like Syracuse could access the robust funding needed to turn the dreams of I-81s transformation into a reality.