Governor Hochul Joins Majority Leader Schumer, Senator Gillibrand, Senior Advisor Landrieu, State and Local Officials to Officially Break Ground on Transformational I-81 Viaduct Project in Syracuse

 

Groundbreaking Held For $2.25 Billion Project That Will Build the Community Grid to Improve Mobility and Reconnect Downtown Neighborhoods

$296.4 Million Already Awarded Under Contract 1; Initial Work Includes Reconstruction of I-81/I-481 Northern Interchange

$384.5 Million Contract 2 Awarded This Week to Begin Conversion of the Southern Interchange of I-481/I-81

Start of Work Comes After More than a Decade of Planning and Community Engagement by the Department of Transportation

 Governor Kathy Hochul today joined federal, state, and local officials to officially break ground on the transformational Interstate 81 Viaduct Project in Syracuse, formally launching one of the largest and most ambitious construction projects ever undertaken by New York State, in partnership with the federal government. Overseen by the State Department of Transportation, the $2.25 billion project will create a Community Grid to reconnect downtown neighborhoods severed by the I-81 viaduct's construction and correct an enduring injustice that has disproportionately impacted residents of color in the City of Syracuse for decades. The historic project, which is the result of more than a decade of planning and community engagement, will also create a new Business Loop 81, which will pass through the city distributing traffic along the way, and make other improvements that will improve mobility, enhance safety, create new recreational opportunities and promote economic growth throughout all of Central New York.

Well, we're here today to make history as part of our bold and nation leading vision for infrastructure here in the State of New York. And our vision is not just about building roads and bridges. We're not just talking about fixing streets and sidewalks. It's about bringing people back together. It's about unifying communities, making transportation projects work for all, and our infrastructure vision right now is absolutely unmatched.

New York is the only state that has boldly embraced the urgent need to reconnect communities with an historic five projects, not one. This is Syracuse, and I love Syracuse, but we have five simultaneous mega projects that are designed to right the wrongs of the past. From the Bronx to Buffalo, we've invested $33 billion. $3 billion of State money to say we have to stitch these communities back together because this is so long overdue. Communities that were cut in half, literally cut in half, severing the artery of the heart of a community with asphalts, roads and bridges and viaducts, and all this reckless post-industrial development.

And we're doing the same thing, not just here, but in Buffalo, the Kensington Expressway, we just announced a billion dollars for that project. We're very excited. The Cross Bronx Expressway, that's going to lead to healthier outcomes for people in the Bronx. The Livingston Avenue Bridge in Albany, connecting communities again. And finishing up the inter loop in Rochester. And finally, this incredible project. And as we officially break ground on the I-81 Viaduct Project, this will be one of the largest transportation projects in New York State history, and arguably, the most important infrastructure that Syracuse has seen in at least a century.

And less than a week after I became governor, I came back here. I know this community. This was my home for four years as a student, literally walking distance from here. And I came here and started walking the streets and saying, “We have to do something.” This has been talked about – talk, talk, talk all the time. We get to do something. And Commissioner Dominguez knows in our very first meeting, sat in her office and I said, “Let's move on this.” Too much time has passed. Children have been born and went to school here and grown up and moved away and never saw a chance to see the true community that has always been there. So, I said, “Let's do it. Let's do it.” And my team will tell you, I'm impatient. I'm impatient. And I want to get government to actually do the big things. The things that have been too hard to do for too long. And this was debated for what seemed forever. And communities get tired of waiting. And you know what? While they're waiting, they're losing faith. They're just thinking that people don't care enough. If you really cared, you'd get it done right, right?

Well, we do care and that's why we're getting it done. And the people who've lived in the shadow of this viaduct, I said, “We have to reimagine the potential.” It's not just taken down – a viaduct, a road, a bridge. It's like what we're going to do. And I'll tell you, this does not get done without extraordinary support at the federal level. They're just thinking that people don't care enough. If you really cared, you'd get it done, right?

So, I cannot thank enough President Biden for understanding this. And maybe it's also because as a student at Syracuse Law School, he saw this viaduct. He knew this community. So, one of his top priorities as our president has been to fix this as well. So, his vision, Chuck Schumer, who is in the position to get this through the Senate with his power – that's the magic that happened that brought us here today.

So, the historic, bipartisan, and you don't hear that word often do you? That's a real problem. It takes a lot to get support on both sides. But they accomplished it. So, I want to congratulate them as well, our partners in Washington for making this happen, the significant funding that made this become a reality. Thank you.

So, the President has talked about this. This is part of his Build Back Better vision, but I'll tell you how we're building it back. We're building it back with union labor. Those are thousands of jobs, thousands of good paying, middle class jobs for our hardworking men and women. And we're the first state in the nation to have a local hire provision. That's not just a union provision. That means the people who live in this community will get the jobs. That's how we're transforming lives.

So, 26,000 union jobs. Let me repeat that: 26,000 union jobs created by this project will go to the hardworking people in this community. And the Federal Highway Administration is using this as a best practice in workforce development. They're putting a spotlight on what we're doing here in Syracuse.

But as I mentioned, it's not just about the jobs, which really excite me as we keep adding to the jobs, particularly here in Upstate, which I know went through a long period of decline. I lived it. I'm an Upstater. I know what it felt like when it felt like all the attention was elsewhere in our state, elsewhere in the country, and people just didn't seem to care. But it's not just about creating jobs, it's about, as I said before, righting the wrongs of the past because we have an opportunity here. Because what happened before was a community – Syracuse is an example of what happened all over this country. This neighborhood was so full of life and history. And you go back to, even back to the Onondaga Nation, the Haudenosaunee people, they were here a long time ago. And that's the territory on which this land was built.

But by the forties and fifties, this 15th Ward was the beating heart of the Black community. It was vibrant. There was cultural events and music and dance and food. This place meant something – Black-owned law firms, businesses, restaurants, barbershops filled the streets. People danced at the Dunbar Center, worshiped at Old Bethany Baptist Church on Washington Street. People of the 15th Ward felt a purpose. They felt pride. Work and community was their motto, and it was a place to call their own.

But as the shift to suburbia started, government infrastructure projects facilitated that by creating the highways that made that white flight even easier. And that's what we're trying to heal in the rest of the country, starting here in New York.

So, to many at the time, they thought these neighborhoods had no value, no value at all. Why not? Didn't see too many of these going to the white neighborhoods at the time because I don't think they felt that the Black communities had the political clout and the power to stop a project that they would have today. Or that other communities had at the time. People were kicked out of their homes. They bulldozed businesses. They erased a story for so many people's lives. Well, a half a century later, the pain still lingers.

The viaduct still blocks the sun. The highway still spews emissions into homes and communities. The sound of screeching cars are still in your ear, and children in this school are breathing fumes as they go outside and play. So, let's figure out how we fix it.

So, as we announce the groundbreaking for this historic $2.5 billion project, we will reconnect this community once and for all. That is our mission. That is what we're doing here today, and we're going to, by constructing this Community Grid, we're going to take off 37,000 vehicles a day away from this school. That's going to be extraordinary because we're not just talking about roads, we're talking about the health of a community, the health of the children, the health of the people.

We're easing congestion and creating better routes. And this monstrosity, this I-81, was built around car transportation, but now it's going to be brought back to life with bicyclists and pedestrians front and center, and so we're not just breaking ground on this and doing it our way. We're doing it based on countless meetings with the community, getting their feedback on their vision for their neighborhood.

That's where it should always start. This school is a perfect example, Dr. King Elementary School. People spoke out. There was a plan to do a roundabout here. Looked good to the engineers. I'm sure it was a fine plan, right? But the residents said, “No, we don't like that. That doesn't fit.” Right? And thank you for speaking up because your voice got this enlightened commissioner and her dedicated team to say, “You know what? We’re going to listen. We're going to adapt, and we'll change it.” So, that's how my administration now operates, and I'm so proud of the people who stood up, gave their time, showed up meeting after meeting, and worked with us. And down the road we're going to have a community engagement center because people are going to have a lot of questions. We want to have one place you come.

And again, this is how we prioritize the people over the projects. You come here, any questions or concerns you have, show up there, and we'll make sure you're taken care of. And if you want to work on the project, we'll talk to you about the employment opportunities. You don't have to go far away. You don't have to find a Department of Labor place. You go right to your neighborhood. So, I understand how people are skeptical. The scars are still very real. They have questions and concerns and doubts, but I just want you to know we're going to finish this project and today is going to be so much more than about roads. It's about the people. And let me wrap up by saying this: As long as I'm governor, never again will an infrastructure project be started that does not consider what a community wants for themselves because they were here first. They are the voices we need to listen to.

So forevermore, when this project is completed, people will travel around Syracuse differently. Kids will never know what their parents and grandparents had to endure. They'll assume it's always been this great, that you could see the sun, you could breathe the air. People you interact with, the opportunities, the ability to go up to the hospital up on University Hill and have connections to jobs and opportunities and health care right there.

This can ignite the imaginations of the next generation about what they can do, the power that they now possess. And every project going forward will make sure that equity and inclusion are front and center. That's how you get more livable and more walkable, more desirable and more affordable communities.