By the end of May, the federal highway trust fund is scheduled to run out of money, leaving many including Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner asking what the future may hold for I-81. At a press conference Thursday called by the Mayor, she asked Congress to find a way to get revenue back in the fund. She says if not, the future of I-81 could be at stake.
"What it means for 81 is that we won't have a pool of money to draw on to plan for what the successor to 81 should be. But you're hearing the community talk about the boulevard, talk about a tunnel, or talk about rebuilding 81. All of those options are expensive, and without the highway trust fund, you're taking away a building block of how you would put the funding together to have a successor."
Funding for the I-81 construction would be comprised of loans from the federal government, grants from the state, and a large portion coming from the federal trust fund. But just in the past few years, the amount of money the city gets from the fund has gone down dramatically as it comes closer and closer to running out of money.
Miner has had discussions with both Senator Chuck Schumer and Congressman John Katko about pushing to replenish the fund. She says they understand the importance of I-81 to the city of Syracuse, but are still missing the most important piece of the puzzle: where to find revenue.
"If there is no revenue there, then we can't have a successor. And so with the highway trust fund scheduled to run out of money in May of this year, now is the time to say to our members of congress, 'You have to solve this problem'."
One thing that may help Miner is former Syracuse Mayor Matt Driscoll just being nominated to head the State Department of Transportation. Miner says he certainly won’t have to be told where I-81 is or the implications that come with it. But if Congress fails to act, it’s expected the fund will run out of money by May 31st.