Theo Horn’s column on May 3 promoting an underground tunnel as a replacement for the 3.75 mile section of Route 81, including the elevated viaduct portions, is partly a result of the fact that New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) does not have a viable method to communicate to the public the problems a tunnel solution would create.  The tunnel option has been rejected by NYSDOT, but is technically still alive: only because some political and business interests, who also, I’m sure, do not understand the liabilities a tunnel would create, are forcing them to keep it in the mix of options.

To be brief, the tunnel option would cost about $1 billion more, which is almost double the estimated cost of the other options and would shut down major portions of both Route 81 and 690 for as long as 10 years while the open trench-type construction below groundwater levels took place. Also, because it can’t split underground, coming from the south on 81 could not connect to Route 690 going east, a fatal defect. Exits for Syracuse University and the hospitals might also be compromised. The list goes on, but I think you get the point… a tunnel could be a disaster and might never be completed.

I am a member of an 81 task force study group and I personally recommend the community grid option that would restore much of the damage done to the city of Syracuse by the original Route 81 construction, as Theo describes in his article, and be an economic stimulus to the city in increased business and new construction.

P.S. There is a public meeting on the 81 Viaduct Project at City Hall Commons on Friday, May 21 at 7:30 a.m. NYSDOT Commissioner Matt Driscoll may be there.

Dave Ashley
Syracuse, New York