Draft:Interstate 81 Business

Interstate 81 Business
Route information
Maintained by NYSDOT
Length	11.18 mi (17.99 km)
Major junctions
South end	I-81 in Syracuse
Major intersections	I-690 in Syracuse NY 370 in Syracuse I-90 Toll / New York Thruway in Salina NY 481 in Cicero
North end	I-81 in Cicero
Location
Country	United States
State	New York
County	Onondaga
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future New York Highways Interstate US State Reference Parkways

Interstate 81 Business (I-81 Bus.), also known as Business Loop 81 (BL 81), is a planned business route of I-81 that will run through Syracuse, New York, and some of its northern suburbs.

It is planned to replace the current routing of I-81 through Syracuse, which includes an elevated viaduct built in the late 1950s, as the aging downtown viaduct is replaced by a street-level boulevard. The rest of I-81 Bus. will remain a freeway. I-81 will then be rerouted outside the city and replace the current I-481.

When commissioned, I-81 Bus. will be the first Interstate business route for both I-81 and New York state.

Route description

The majority of I-81 Bus. will remain a freeway, save for a section in downtown that is currently the viaduct but will be converted into a street-level boulevard.

I-81 Bus. will begin at exit 81 on its parent route in a recently rebuilt interchange near the Southside, Eastside, and Valley neighborhoods of Syracuse. It will then have an exit on East Glenn Street, complete with traffic circles above the highway and other ramps that connect back to I-81. After two exits it is to go underneath a railroad bridge as a pedestrian path from Martin Luther King Boulevard straddles the roadway.^[1] I-81 Bus. will then enter a traffic circle with Van Buren Street, then continue north as Almond Street. After 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of street intersections, including one with NY 92, I-81 Bus. will turn left on Erie Boulevard (also known as NY 5) before emerging back into a freeway under I-690.

Turning north, the freeway will have newly rebuilt interchanges with Court Street, Bear Street (NY 298), and others before a large intersection with NY 370, which becomes the Onondaga Lake Parkway, in addition to other streets serving NBT Bank Stadium and the William F. Walsh Regional Transportation Center. It will then interchange with 7th Street, the New York State Thruway, and US 11 before serving the Syracuse Hancock International Airport. A few miles north in Cicero, I-81 Bus. will have an interchange with NY 481 shortly before merging back with I-81 and ending. The series of interchanges with NY 481 and I-81 was formerly a singular cloverleaf interchange between I-81 and I-481/NY 481, the latter two highways having once shared the same right-of-way. Like the intersection between I-81 and I-81 Bus. near southside, this interchange in Cicero is in the process of being rebuilt to allow I-81 to flow seamlessly into its new configuration on the soon-to-be decommissioned I-481.

History

Original routing of I-81

Main article: Interstate 81 in New York § History

Removing the viaduct

Replacing or removing the viaduct was a point of discussion during the 2010s. After deliberation, the state chose the "community grid" option that would remove the viaduct and replace it with a boulevard complete with traffic circles and stoplights.^[2]

Exit list

The entire route is in Onondaga County. ^[3]

Location[3]	mi[3][4]	km	Old exit	New exit	Destinations	Notes
Syracuse	81.51	131.18	16A	1A	I-81 north – DeWitt	Left exit southbound. Currently I-481, which will become the new I-81. Future exits to be added with East Glenn St.
	82.48	132.74	17	1B	South State Street, South Salina Street, Brighton Avenue, East Colvin Street	South State Street not signed northbound; access to JMA Wireless Dome; signed as exit 1C southbound.
	84.07	135.30	18	–	Adams Street, Harrison Street	Access to Oncenter and Syracuse University
	84.71	136.33	—	3A	I-690 – East Syracuse, Fairgrounds, Baldwinsville	No southbound access to I-690 west
	85.25	137.20	19	3B	Clinton Street, Salina Street	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	85.37	137.39	20	–	Franklin Street, West Street	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	85.81	138.10	21	–	Spencer Street, Catawba Street	Southbound exit and entrance
	86.23– 87.45	138.77– 140.74	22	4B	NY 298 (Bear Street) to I-690 west	I-690 not signed northbound
			23	5	Hiawatha Boulevard, Destiny USA Drive	Southbound exit only; signed as exits 5A (Hiawatha) and 5B (Destiny)
	86.90	139.85	23–24	5A-C	NY 370 (Park Street, Onondoga Lake Parkway) / Hiawatha Boulevard / Old Liverpool Road – Liverpool	Northbound exit and southbound entrance; signed as exits 5A (NY 370 east), 5B (NY 370 west; closed indefinitely due to truck safety issues at the Onondaga Lake Parkway Bridge), and 5C (Old Liverpool)
Salina	88.02	141.65	25	6	7th North Street – Liverpool
	88.30	142.11	25A	7	I-90 Toll / New York Thruway – Albany, Buffalo	Exit 36 on I-90 / Thruway
	89.85	144.60	26	8	US 11 – Mattydale
	90.46	145.58	27	9A	Syracuse Airport	Combined with exit 9B northbound and exit 8 southbound
Cicero	91.28	146.90	28	9B	Taft Road – North Syracuse
	92.69	149.17	29	11	I-81 south – DeWitt NY 481 north – Oswego	Exits 96N-S on what is currently I-481 and exits 1A-B on NY 481. I-481 will become the new I-81.
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Electronic toll collection       Incomplete access

See also

Urban highways that underwent similar downgrades to become boulevards

• West Side Highway
• Inner Loop (Rochester)
• New York State Route 895, formerly Interstate 895

References

1. Breidenbach, Michelle (August 13, 2025). "What will Business Loop 81 look like as drivers approach Syracuse? See new drawing". Syracuse.com. Retrieved September 2, 2025.
2. "I-81 Viaduct Project". New York State Department of Transportation. Retrieved August 6, 2025.
3. Office of Technical Services (2014). "Inventory Listing". Engineering Division, New York State Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on April 19, 2014. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
   • Onondaga County Archived July 23, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
4. "New York State Roadway Inventory System Viewer". New York State Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on January 16, 2017. Retrieved April 14, 2017.