The community grid option to replace a portion of Interstate 81 in the city of Syracuse, if followed through, will maintain and improve speedy and effective routes for both commuters and those just passing through, the state Department of Transportation argued Wednesday.

Members representing the DOT held a press conference further detailing their report issued earlier this week that recommends the community grid as the preferred option to replace the aging highway.

“Access into and out of the city of Syracuse will be fast in a high-speed fashion,” said Mark Frechette, DOT director of planning and program management.

Frechette maintains that the grid will improve safety and traffic operations, will improve access into the city and create direct routes to several key destinations.

“The speeds on 81, as they exist today, will be maintained if you’re coming from the north. They’ll be maintained all the way down to 690 as they are today,” said DOT Regional Director Dave Smith. “If you’re coming from the south, those speeds will be maintained up to MLK [Blvd.] So it’s that 1.2 mile segment in between where it will be the street grid. So for those commuters who come to the city, and this is what people really need to understand, that commute is going to be very similar to what it is today.”

Frechette also said that only four commercial buildings will have to be acquired during the project and no residential or historical properties will be affected. The other two options — an 81 tunnel or replacing the viaduct as is — would impact 17 and 24 properties, respectively.

Both also emphasized the use of what will be called “Business Loop 81,” which “maintains a high-speed freeway north of 690, past Destiny, past Salina, past North Syracuse into Cicero and Clay area where 481 currently exists,” Frechette said.

“The business loop concept south of MLK down at the Dome will maintain a high-speed freeway south through the valley, down to Nedrow and into Tully,” Frechette added.

The DOT also recommended that the state would own all of Business Loop 81.

Frechette reiterated the estimated time frame for the project made out in the report.

“From the time we start to the time we complete the project, it would take five years,” Frechette said.

As far as the actual construction goes, Frechette didn’t want to elaborate too much since a lot of details remain to be ironed out or changed but did say that work on the 481 bypass would be done first and that the business loop would then take priority.

"We want the business loop in place before we touch the I-81 viaduct,” Frechette said.

In the meantime, officials said Interstate 81 — though it technically has reached the end of its useful life — remains an adequate road for travel.

“It is safe and we will continue to inspect it,” Frechette said.

The DOT will set up an extensive public input session soon for any concerns to be brought forward. The record of decision is expected in late 2020, and the state and federal government will have to sign off on it before construction can begin.