A major milestone in the Interstate 81 viaduct project was made Tuesday, as a new flyover ramp has been built and completed over the main line of I-81.

It will carry traffic from the future Business Loop 81 northbound to I-81 northbound in Cicero.

It's now open to traffic. 

"You're allowed to have high speed movement instead of coming to a stop or slowing down to 15, 20, 25 miles an hour," said Marie Therese Dominguez, commissioner of the New York state Department of Transportation. "It allows traffic to move faster. It's safer actually, believe it or not, at higher speeds sometimes. When you have cars slowing down to merge into traffic, it can cause crashes and it's part of what we're trying to do is move traffic efficiently."

Construction of a second flyover bridge is also underway, creating a connection for motorists to bypass downtown Syracuse utilizing the redesignated I-81 northbound, to State Route 481 northbound.