In December 2016, the Town of Manlius Board approved a resolution in support of Interstate 81’s existing highway alignment in the City of Syracuse.
The resolution breaks down just how traffic patterns would be negative altered if I-81 is replaced:
“If Interstate 81 is not retained as an interstate highway, trucks headed north through Syracuse to Interstate 690 or the New York thruway would encounter a boulevard laced with 14 signalized intersections, then have to make a right turn onto Erie Boulevard, travel two blocks, make a left turn to pass under I-690, and then another left turn onto a westbound I-690 ramp.”
However, the Town Board finds that such a scenario is unlikely — causing other negative impacts.
“It is very unlikely that trucks traveling north on I-81 with a destination to the west would travel this route, nor would any divert miles out of the way to the east of Syracuse and pay increased tolls on the Thruway to reach their goal,” the resolution states. “The result would be communities west of Syracuse experiencing a greatly increased burden of truck traffic, with many of the trucks carrying hazardous wastes.”