In May 2018, the Village of East Syracuse Board of Trustees unanimously approved a resolution opposing the replacement of Interstate 81 with a boulevard, re-routing highway traffic around the City of Syracuse.
The Board expressed concerns about how businesses along I-81’s current path may be harmed if the route loses its interstate highway designation in the city. The resolution states: “The Village Board urges I-81 decision-makers to fully and thoroughly explore a range of options for handling l-81’s aging infrastructure, including a tunnel, depressed roadway, an iconic new bridge into Syracuse, a modernized elevated structure.”