March 20, 2010: TRAVELER ADVISORY – Left Lane Closure on Southbound I-81, City of Syracuse (Onondaga County)
The New York State Department of Transportation announced that the left lane of southbound Interstate 81, from Park Street to the eastbound I-690 off-ramp, will be closed from March 20, 2010 at 7:00 a.m. until approximately June 1 for center pier reconstruction work at the Butternut Street bridge.
Two southbound through lanes will be available approaching the work site.
For updated information on this project, check www.511ny.gov or dial 511. Or click here for the NYSDOT website.
December 14, 2009: The New York State Department of Transportation announced that construction work on the Butternut Street bridge over Interstate 81 will begin on Monday, January 4, 2010.
This is the third bridge reconstruction on the Northside of Syracuse, following the Spencer and Court Street bridges, which were opened earlier this year. Like the previous two bridge replacements, work on the Butternut crossing will be done in one construction phase, meaning this important connector street will be closed to all traffic. The signed detours will be as follows:
For downtown traffic traveling towards northbound I-81: north on N. Franklin Street; east (right turn) on Herald Place; then north (left turn) on N. Salina Street. Vehicles can then enter the highway from the N. Pearl Street entrance.
For local traffic traveling between the north and west sides of Syracuse, the same detour will be used: N. State Street, N. Salina Street, Herald Place and N. Franklin Street. A free pedestrian shuttle service will also run along the detour route, with stops at the intersections of Butternut/N. Franklin Street and Butternut/N. State Street. This shuttle service will be in operation Monday thru Friday between 6 AM and 6 PM and on Saturday between 9 AM and 5 PM for the duration of the bridge work.
In addition to the closure on Butternut Street, the left lane of I-81, in both directions, will be closed continuously from (approximately) April 1 to June 1, to facilitate work on the center pier of the bridge. Overnight work to remove the existing bridge deck and set the new steel beams will also be needed, requiring off-highway detours. These overnight work periods are scheduled to take place in January and June, respectively.
It is anticipated that all work should be completed by September 30, 2010.
Check back on the Our Northside website for regular updates to the bridge reconstruction process and detour information. You will be able to find updates and general information on the right sidebar with the orange detour sign. For more information about the detour, including maps, click here.
