I-81 Project Library

Find your comment and response from the FDR, FEIS.

The Draft Envirnmental Impact Statement can also be found at local repositories. Find a location near you. 

NYSDOT published the project’s preliminary Draft Design Report / Draft Environmental Impact Statement on April 19, 2019. This document examines the potential environmental effects of the project’s proposed alternatives.

This Coordination Plan for the Interstate 81 (I-81) Viaduct Project (“the Project”), located in the City of Syracuse, Onondaga County, New York, conforms to the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and specifically complies with the federal surface transportation law Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP‐21) Act of 2012. 

Section 6002 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) increased opportunities for the public and Federal, State, and local agencies to have active and early involvement in the NEPA process and to provide input on a project’s purpose and need, environmental study methodology, and alternatives under consideration. Section 6002 and 23 USC 139 require the development of a Coordination Plan for all highway and transit projects for which an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is being prepared under NEPA. Accordingly, the Federal Lead Agency (the Federal Highway Administration [FHWA]) and the Joint Lead Agency (the New York State Department of Transportation [NYSDOT]) have prepared this Coordination Plan to describe the process and communication methods followed to disseminate information about the Project, as well as to solicit and consider input from the public and other agencies.

This Coordination Plan has and will continue to be in effect throughout the environmental review process, beginning with the issuance of the Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an EIS for the Project and ending with the Record of Decision (ROD). The plan is a flexible, “living” document that can be amended as needed during the project environmental review process. Changes and updates to the plan will be documented in the “Revision History” section.

In 2008, the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) initiated the I-81 Corridor Study to review the highway’s existing conditions and issues as they conduct planning-level analysis of potential options for the future of the 12-mile corridor. The Corridor Study Report and other documents related to this study and its extensive public participation program, led by NYSDOT and the Syracuse Metropolitan Transportation Council (SMTC).The I-81 Challenge study concluded in 2013, and will help inform the NYSDOT and Federal Highway Administration as they work through the environmental review process to determine the best way to improve I-81 in Syracuse.

The I-81 Viaduct Project official began with the publication of the Notice of Intent (NOI).