Drivers on Syracuse’s University Hill are reporting major delays and gridlock after the first phase of traffic changes tied to the Interstate 81 project began this week, including backups so severe that some workers said colleagues were stuck for hours trying to leave parking garages.
The state has started construction of a new roundabout at Van Buren Street, a project that will eventually slow northbound traffic as it approaches downtown Syracuse and serve as the point where northbound I-81 traffic transitions from highway speed to the community grid.
But the shutdown of parts of Van Buren and Almond streets has created immediate headaches on nearby side streets, with detours and new traffic patterns affecting daily commutes around the area near the Dome and the hospitals.
Birgit Latray, who works in the pulmonary clinic at the VA hospital, said the first day of the shutdown brought severe congestion…