Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for highway removal
RESIDENTS DISPLACED
Thousands
from Syracuse's historically Black 15th Ward when the viaduct was built
WARD AFFECTED
15th
historically Black neighborhood bisected by the original I-81 viaduct
Analysis
Policy
Construction
Debate
Planning
Federal Policy
Decision
Contract
1944
Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1944 authorizes the Interstate Highway System concept
Post-war federal highway policy begins taking shape as Congress authorizes and designates a National System of Interstate Highways, setting the stage for routing expressways through urban cores — often through low-income and minority neighborhoods.
1956
Interstate Highway Act signed
Eisenhower signs the Federal Aid Highway Act, creating the Interstate Highway System and unleashing a wave of urban highway construction.
1962
I-81 viaduct constructed through Syracuse's 15th Ward
The elevated highway is built through the historically Black 15th Ward neighborhood, displacing thousands of residents and businesses. The viaduct physically severs the neighborhood from the rest of the city.
2000
Community and planning debates begin over aging viaduct's future
The viaduct, approaching end of structural life, triggers a multi-decade public debate between highway retention, tunnel, and community grid options.
2016
New York State begins formal environmental review process
NYSDOT initiates a Draft Environmental Impact Statement examining all alternatives, including rebuilding the viaduct, a tunnel, and the community grid surface street option.
2021
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act allocates $1B for highway removal
The Biden-era Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes the Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program — $1 billion dedicated specifically to removing or retrofitting highway infrastructure that divided neighborhoods.
2022
Community grid design selected as preferred alternative
NYSDOT and federal partners formally select the community grid — a surface boulevard system — over tunnel and viaduct-rebuild options, citing environmental justice, cost, and long-term neighborhood reconnection benefits.
2023
Phase One demolition of elevated viaduct begins
The above-ground viaduct structure begins coming down in Phase One, marking the physical start of one of the most-watched urban highway removal projects in the country.
2026
$2.1B Phase Two contract awarded
NYSDOT awards the $2.1 billion Phase Two contract covering construction of the replacement surface boulevard, utility relocations, and local street reconstruction throughout the project corridor.