B Blair

Arch 423/Environ 370

Section: 003
Syracuse Elevated Highway

Syracuse New York, like many cities in America that stand today, was influenced by the
post-World War II development. The 1951 Housing Act encouraged the sales of suburban
homes away from cities causing much of the affluent population to leave the city. The Federal
Highway Act of 1956 further continued the movement away from Syracuse by providing easy
transportation to the city with the construction of elevated interstate 81. However, the highway
did not just offer transportation to the city, instead the highways ran through downtown
Syracuse, splitting the city in half and tearing up neighborhoods. Today the highway is in need
of repair, and it needs to be renovated soon. But Syracuse, like other cities, does not know if its
highway system running through the center of its downtown is appropriate for modern times. and
Instead of paying to renew the existing structure, they are considering tearing down the internal
highway system and potentially rerouting it around the city. Syracuse is looking at alternatives
to their elevated highway, interstate 81, as it takes up developable lands and is the cause for
some of the most concentrated poverty in America. Syracuse is looking to solve these problems,
and the city has to decide on whether or not to changing the existing highway system would
benefit the city as the highway has come to the end of its natural useful life.
Interstate 81 runs through the heart of Syracuse. It is an elevated highway, being held up
by many support beams. The highway has stood, cutting the city in half since the 1960s, however
time has taken its toll, and the highway has worn down to below and its drivable life is coming to
a close. The crumbling old highway is not just an eyesore to the public itself, but it also causes

many issues with congestion underneath it, where drivers try and navigate their way onto the
highway to get into the city.
This highway also takes up otherwise developable land in the city blocks from its center
in the form of ramps, and parking garages and surface. This is land that could be utilized by the
city to create more housing or more zones for businesses. The potential for this land could bring
in many new citizens as well as businesses to the city and ultimately help increase the local
economy of Syracuse. I-81 also acts as a great divide, making it difficult for foot traffic and
other navigation between Syracuses two most lively neighborhoods, University Hill and
downtown. These are some of the infrastructure and developmental problems that have risen due
to I-81, and are the reason why city officials are looking at the potential of dismantling the
highway.
The elevated highway that runs through Syracuse uses up land that could be used for
making a better bettering the city, instead of separating neighborhoods of the city from each
other, and has caused causing a the growth of concentration of poverty in neighborhoods
surrounding the highway. Now there is Currently the question is whether the highway should be
renovated or if it should be torn down and rerouted around the city.
There is also the issue of poverty that was caused by the implementation of the highway.
The city of Syracuse sought to get money from the 1956 Federal Highway Act to construct a
highway network through the city. The leaders of the city at the time claimed that a loan from
the act would help build Syracuse into one of the largest cities in the country because people
would be able to easily commute to downtown from outlying areas. And In 1956, the city was
granted $500 million to start the construction of what was to become the elevated interstate 81
that was set to destined to sever downtown. This plan did not just split the center of the city, but

also the closely-tied black community. Thinking little of Failing to consider this human
community the city passed plans for construction without hesitation.
Within 10 years the implementation of the highway, 20% of the Syracuse white affluent
population moved out of the city to the suburbs, and 50% more between 1970 and 2010.
Meanwhile the black population grew from only 4,500 to 42,000. however This growing
population was not able to buy the nicer homes or apartments, that were left my the white
depopulation, and they were not offered jobs within the city due to the racism of the times. This
lead to the growing black population to move to the slums south of downtown right under
interstate 81. But with the Continued growth of suburbs and sprawl reaching farther and farther
from Syracuse and in tandem with due in part to interstate 81, this encouraging affluent whites to
move out of the city because they had a convenient way to travel into Syracuse. With most of
the wealth leaving the city, it left behind only the poor to fend for themselves.
However, the highway did not just create bad effects have negative consequences, there
are positives that need to be taken into account. There is the issue of Both commuters as well as
for and businesses, who have benefited from interstate 81. The town of Salina, just north of
Syracuse, has an economy built on the easy access to the highways. The town supervisor, Mark
Nicotra, says that many citizens in Salina use the highway to commute to work and it allows
many logistical businesses to deliver goods efficiently fairly easily. Destiny USA, a huge mall
that stands on the northern end of the city, is currently right along the major highway, along with
many hotels. The highway brings in consumers for these businesses, and rerouting the highway
would take away this easy consumer access, ultimately hurting these existing businesses already
in place. The highway also provides trucks easy access to inner city businesses, improving
truckers efficiency and keeping stores shelves stocked. The highway does not just make

consumer access to business easy, it also helps maintain businesses inventory for the sell to all
the consumers.
Even if The elevated highway may not be considered is considered to not be aesthetically
pleasing, but it does help prevent blight other eye sores in the lakeside village of Skaneateles. It
used to be that a Garbage trucks would pass through the towns main street, almost every three
minutes, as it is on the way to an upstate landfill. However, residents of the town worked for
years to reroute the garbage trucks to take the highway. Without the constant fumes and noise of
the garbage trucks, the town has flourished into a tourist spot with many shops. However, if the
highway were rerouted, the garbage trucks would possibly come back through the downtown
main street, as they did in the old route. This would hinder the picturesque towns appearance
and hurt the villages businesses with a loss of tourists and consumers.
The state of New York and the city of Syracuse are in agreement that the elevated
highway has come to its lifes end because of wear it is worn down and no longer meets is on par
with todays safety engineering standards. The lanes are too narrow and sharp twists and curves
in the road do not allow drivers to exceed 55 mph. There are currently proposals being debated
on what should be done with interstate 81. The problem is determining figuring out which
would have the best impact on the future of Syracuse. But Many planners agree, are in
agreement that they do not want to make the same mistake with rebuilding a highway that tears
apart the cities community would be a mistake. A group of planners and residents formed an
organization named Rethink 81, to figure out a more creative way to implement a new the
highway by and considering long-term effects on the city and community. The group thinks that
existing interstate 81 provides an important lesson learned shouldnt have been built in the first
place, and a similar mistake for the Syracuse should not be made again. At the same time

Businesses, suburban residents, and truckers are predominantly vehemently against any change
to the current highway system. With these mind sets and the resources available The big three
potential proposals that have come from the groups in favor of the status quo out are either to
build a tunnel under the city, replace highway with into a wide lane boulevard which would as
going through the city, or instead of having an elevated highway, build it in a sunken corridor.
These proposals give the city the option of either making a change in attempt to create a better
future community and city, or revert to the same old thinking and leave things the way they are.

http://www.governing.com/topics/transportation-infrastructure/gov-highway-through-city.html
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/11/syracuse-slums/416892/