T

he future of what to do with Interstate 81 is split along city lines.

Several high-profile Syracuse officials want the community grid, a $1.3 billion option that would knock down the highway’s viaduct that bisects the city, moving traffic to surrounding streets in Syracuse and nearby suburbs. Meanwhile, many county residents and leaders are pushing for a $4.5 billion grid-tunnel hybrid option that would allow high-speed traffic to flow beneath a community grid.

Tensions were high at a DeWitt town hall with Rep. John Katko (R-Camillus) Saturday, where hundreds of people heard city and county residents’ arguments on why they wanted a grid, a hybrid tunnel-grid or neither. DeWitt is just east of Syracuse.

I-81’s viaduct runs through the center of the city of Syracuse, and reached the end of its useful life in 2017, according to New York state transportation officials. Politicians have been waiting for answers on the highway’s future for more than a decade, and continue to wait for a state Draft Environmental Impact Statement, which would give more context on current options for I-81’s replacement.

Residents of Onondaga County urged Katko to think about the environmental repercussions on both sides Saturday.

Proponents of the grid said the center of Syracuse has faced pollutants created by the highway and stop-and-go traffic for too long. Multiple people who spoke against the community grid argued that the traffic rerouted to I-481 could increase noise and air pollution in their towns.

Karen Docter, a member of the DeWitt Town Board, said at the forum that she can currently hear the traffic that rumbles on I-481. She said she worries about truck traffic, bad odors and particulate matter pollution that would come with the rerouting of I-81 to I-481, if only a community grid was implemented.

“The city of Syracuse experiences that now,” Katko said in response.

Lillian Abbott-Hook took the microphone after Docter, arguing against Docter’s statements. She said the traffic and odor’s effect on DeWitt’s property values are not worth the decimation of the 15th Ward.

“It’s fine to keep that pollution tumbling around underneath the viaduct as long as it affects the poor people of the 15th Ward,” Abbott-Hook said.

I-81’s construction upended the 15th Ward, a historically African-American neighborhood in Syracuse, and led to the segregation of the city on racial and financial lines, experts said in interviews with The Daily Orange.

Abbott-Hook grew up in Syracuse’s Armory Square before its redevelopment, she said, and she would walk underneath the viaduct to get to Syracuse University. She said her parents worried for her safety whenever she walked beneath it.

“I really feel strongly that we need the grid if we want to compete in the 21st century, economically,” Common Councilor Joe Driscoll, of the 5th district, said in an interview. “We see the cities that are thriving and they don’t have highways dividing them right through the middle.”

County officials, though, say the redirection of traffic could be disastrous during rush hour and overburden I-481.

“The true cost of the grid is not what’s being put out there,” said Damian Ulatowski, supervisor of the town of Clay and president of the Onondaga County Supervisor’s Association.

Both the Onondaga County Mayor’s Association and the county Supervisor’s Association endorsed a hybrid tunnel-community grid option in a letter to New York state Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D).

But city officials think the plan is ludicrous.

The New York state Department of Transportation kept the tunnel option on the table despite its cost — a massive bill to foot compared to a $1.7 billion viaduct rebuilding alternative or the $1.3 billion grid alternative, according to state data.

“There’s nothing they can say that will convince me (of) rebuilding the viaduct or building a tunnel — it’s an incredible waste of money,” said Councilor At-Large Tim Rudd, in an interview.

Ulatowski said the tunnel-grid option is the best option for central New York, and it would keep traffic moving through the tunnel while the community grid operates on top. He also spoke at the forum Saturday.

Only using the community grid and diverting traffic to the two-lane I-481 would cause delays all the way out to DeWitt, Ulatowski said, and would even increase the amount of particulate matter pollution in the air due to stop-and-go traffic.

“I think we’re worth every penny of what will probably be a 100-year solution to a failing and crumbling interstate in the city of Syracuse,” Ulatowski said.

The New York state DOT has yet to release a Draft Environmental Impact Statement, which would outline the potential effects of each option on the surrounding city and county. It was initially promised in January, but state officials say there is currently no exact release date.

Driscoll said he fears the Draft Environmental Impact Statement will never be released. Several community members at the forum expressed the same sentiment.

Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh formally stated his support of the community grid multiple times since his inauguration, including in a letter he signed and sent to Cuomo. The Common Council, most of whom also signed the letter in support of the grid, could soon formally declare that support, Driscoll said.

Ulatowski said he respects the position the city has taken, but “there’s more signatures of elected officials on our side.”

Multiple county residents at the town hall argued against the community grid, for reasons such as traffic, construction costs and a possible destruction of wetlands. Several said the community grid won’t solve the issues of poverty and lack of business in the center of the city.

“The bottom line is you still have another Erie Boulevard smack in the middle of the city,” one man said. “Have you tried to cross Erie Boulevard?”

Sunny Aslam, a doctor at Upstate University Hospital, said he supports the community grid based on social, economic and environmental reasons. He said he wanted Katko to take a position on the issue so he could have a greater influence on the community’s opinion.

Katko responded, saying he will take a position after the report comes out.

Another man, a resident of Jamesville named Mike, said he believes the viaduct should be rebuilt, but rerouted to a less populated part of the city near Geddes Street and Court Street. He said the community grid and tunnel were both crazy ideas.

“What’s our moniker gonna be?” Mike asked. “Come to Syracuse and see our tunnel?”

Andrea Jacobs, a DeWitt resident who grew up in Syracuse, supported the community grid. She said she will “gladly sacrifice” a few extra minutes in her car to help the people in Syracuse who “suffer the most.” She also questioned Katko on why he did not first have a town hall in the city of Syracuse. Katko has not yet announced the date or location of the Syracuse town hall, but said he would host one.

“I have three kids here in Syracuse. Why wouldn’t we do the very best to create a sustainable and welcoming city that your children would want to live in, than drive through?” Jacobs said to Katko. “We want our kids to stay.”