Gov. Cuomo has done a great disservice to central New Yorkers concerning I-81. After 3 or 4 years of study, with numerous hearings, presentations, open houses and comment collections, he has discarded the most popular plan, rebuilding the viaduct, and brought us back to square one to study plans that have long been discarded. In the case of the tunnel, the DOT found it too expensive, too long and disruptive to build, and too high in maintenance (possibly due to the salt in the subsurface). The depressed highway (the moat) would have some of the same problems and would be much more of a “divider,” than the viaduct. (Remember we filled in the Erie Canal).

Obviously, Gov. Cuomo is being influenced by someone to make him reject the outcome of the long and orderly process that has occurred. The governor could have saved us a lot of time and money had he mandated his desired option from the get-go.

Gloria Sage
Syracuse, New York