For Immediate Release: August 16, 2013
Contact: Mark Nicotra, (315) 313-5765, [email protected]
Group encourages area residents to sign Save81.org petition
AUBURN, N.Y. — In a unanimous August 15 vote, the Auburn City Council became the latest locality to pass a resolution urging state officials to choose a plan for dealing with the aging portions of Interstate 81 in the area that maintains I-81’s current function and designation as an Interstate Highway through Syracuse.
In response to the Council’s vote, Save81.org member Ed Wagner, the Town Supervisor of Owasco, stated:
“Constructing a boulevard in Downtown Syracuse and re-routing I-81 could increase heavy truck traffic here in Cayuga County, leading to more accidents, pollution and damage to our infrastructure. The Auburn City Council’s resolution is just more evidence of the concerns that Cayuga County residents have about the I-81 project.”
“Numerous other localities have passed their own similar resolutions, and more than 1,000 area residents have already signed Save81.org’s petition in support of preserving I-81’s Interstate Highway status through Syracuse. Clearly, concerns about a boulevard are widespread throughout the region.”
Save81.org opposes the boulevard plan being considered by state officials to deal with the aging portions of I-81 in the area and believes there are multiple solutions that should be considered instead, including a tunnel, depressed roadway, a new bridge, a rebuilt elevated highway, or an idea that has yet to be proposed.
The Auburn City Council joins leaders in the Towns of Salina, DeWitt, Owasco, Skaneateles, Sennett, Fleming, Moravia and Geddes, as well as the Cayuga and Onondaga County Legislatures, in urging state officials to preserve I-81’s designation as an Interstate Highway through Syracuse and Central New York.
Like these other towns and counties, the Auburn City Council believes altering I-81’s designation would have unintended negative consequences for the entire region, including increased truck traffic and safety issues.
The Auburn City Council’s resolution will be sent to the New York State Department of Transportation and the Syracuse Metropolitan Transportation Council.
For more information or to sign the group’s petition, visit Save81.org.