Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - The total cost of demolishing the building that forced the shut-down of Route 81 last winter was announced Monday, as was the final distribution of the costs between the City of Syracuse and the State.
Portions of the old warehouse along State Street crumbled, causing the northbound lanes of the highway to be closed for weeks until the building could be fully demolished and removed. Final costs of the work have topped $850,000 with the majority going to the demolition firm that conducted the bulk of the work.
Most of that bill, about $733,000, will be paid by the State. The City of Syracuse will pay a little more than $125,000.
The City has also taken the lead in trying to recover the demolition costs from the building's owner, Anthony Tartaro.
Interstate 81 to reopen this weekend
March 18
Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - The Governor and State DOT say that 81-North through the City of Syracuse will reopen this weekend, either late Saturday or early Sunday.
The roadway was closed on February 26 because a privately-owned building had begun to collapse under the weight of heavy snow. The DOT closed the road because they were worried debris from the building could fall onto the highway. Demolition of the building began Wednesday, after much debate between the City and State.
"The best news is that I-81 will be open for the NCAA Tournament," Governor Paterson said.
About half the building has been taken down in a little more than two days, but project supervisor Stephen Brooks says crews could have done work even faster had the building not been in such bad shape. "We'll be working out of a man basket with chisels, air chisels, to take bricks down one-by-one," he said.
Although the DOT has announced the interstate will reopen, there will be some traffic restrictions while crews continue the demolition project. The following travel restrictions will be put into place, around the clock through approximately June 1, to facilitate progress on the Butternut Street bridge replacement project:
- I-81 Northbound Mainline: Left lane closed from on-ramp at Harrison Street to Butternut Street. Just north of the Butternut Street bridge site, traffic will be shifted to the left and center lanes, with the right lane closed in the building area to facilitate completion of the demolition and site cleanup.
- I-81 Northbound Ramps: Access to I-81 north will be maintained from I-690 westbound and the Pearl Street on-ramp. Occasional short term or daily closures of these on-ramps may be necessary during this time.
- The Butternut and State Street on-ramps will remain closed to facilitate completion of the demolition and site cleanup.
"Throughout this closure our main goal has been to assure the safety of the traveling public," said NYSDOT Acting Commissioner Stanley Gee. "Now that we're able to reopen the highway, we are reminding motorists to drive carefully through work zones and obey the posted construction speed limit for their safety as well as the safety of the highway work crew."
The demolition contractor expects the structure to be completely demolished by Wednesday. At that point, they'll start hauling the debris away.
Demolition crew says today was a good day
Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - The eight-member demolition crew reports that it was a good day of progress taking down the building that DOT officials fear posed a danger to I-81.
Members of the demolition crew told NewsChannel 9's Jennifer Lewke that they expect to have the entire building taken down by early next week. They say they had some issues with the wind Wednesday, because it sometimes blew in a direction they didn't want, but overall they say it was a good day.
State inspectors are on site, and are able to give approval to open the road as soon as they deem the building is no longer a threat to drivers.
The eight-member crew says they're working "sun up to sun down" to remove the danger.
Demolition on collapsing building underway; police urge detour
Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - Demolition of a building that has kept Route 81 shutdown for weeks began Wednesday afternoon.
Two cranes on both sides of the building began work shortly after noon, demolishing the lower portion of the building first. NewsChannel 9's towercam showed one of the cranes at work along Route 81, slowly tearing apart the north and west ends of the building.
Route 81 has been closed for nearly three weeks as the city and state discussed who would pay for the demolition of the building.
Click on the video to the right to watch a time lapse of some of the demolition.
The Syracuse Police Department is asking drivers to find alternate routes when headed north of the city.
North State Street has been closed due to the demolition.
Because of the demolition of the building, North State Street between Ash St. and East Division St. has now been shut down. The road was used as a detour by many drivers to access the on-ramp to Route 81 north several blocks north.
Syracuse Police are asking drivers to avoid North State St. near North Salina St. if possible.
The Syracuse Police Department is recommending motorists consider taking Lodi St. north to Hiawatha Blvd. or Solar St. north to Hiawatha Blvd. (see green area in Google map below).
Syracuse Police say drivers should expect heavy traffic congestion and delays when traveling along the N. State St. and N. Salina St. corridors.
Map of Roads Closed, Detours
Detour announced for North State Street demolition
Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - The DOT has announced a new detour related to the demolition of the North State Street building that forced a section of I-81 to close.
The DOT says that North State Street between Ash Street and East Division Street will be closed to traffic beginning immediately due to that demolition. The detour will last until the demolition site can be made safe.
Traffic will be detoured as follows:
Northbound North State Street:
Right on Ash Street to Salina Street, Left on Salina Street to Division Street, Left on Division Street, Right on State Street.
Southbound North State Street:
Left on Division Street to Salina Street, Right on Salina Street to Ash Street, Right on Ash Street to State Street, Left on State Street.
Demolition of State Street building to begin Wednesday
Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - The demolition of the building that caused the closure of a portion of Interstate 81 will begin on Wednesday, the demolition project manager said today.
Steve Brooks, project manager for Ritter & Paratore Contracting, Inc. of Utica, confirmed that the demolition will begin Wednesday.
"We are hoping the building will begin to be taken down on Wednesday, weather and final arrangements permitting," NYSDOT spokesperson Deborah Rausch said.
The crumbling building at 921-925 North State Street partially collapsed under the weight of heavy snow on February 27. Last Friday, after a deal was struck between the City and the State, Ritter & Paratore was named the winning bidder for the project. They arrived on site Saturday, and began to erecting a substantial fence and barricade to restrict access to the demolition site Monday.
The first step of demolition of the building will be asbestos abatement.
Building demolition work expected to begin this week
Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - The first steps in knocking down the building alongside Route 81 north in Syracuse will get underway Monday.
The State Department of Transportation and an emergency construction contractor from Monroe County will oversee the demolition project. Ritter & Paratore Contracting, Inc. of Utica was chosen to demolish the building.
They began work on the building Saturday to assure that the building can be brought down safely. The contractor began erecting a substantial fence and barricade to restrict access to the demolition site. Asbestos abatement will begin in the next few days.
The project schedule calls for the demolition to progress so that I-81 can be reopened next week.
The State DOT says the contractor will work daily from sunrise to sunset, weather permitting, to take the building down so that Route 81 can be reopened.
North State Street (Route 11) between Butternut Street and Catawba Street, will be closed to traffic once the actual demolition of the building begins.
Building demolition work begins Saturday
Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - New fencing and a 'Sidewalk Closed' sign are up, as the first early indications of demolition work begin along North State Street, where a crumbling building that's closed Interstate 81 north through Syracuse will soon come down.
The DOT announced Friday night that demolition of a building that forced Interstate 81 to close could begin as early as Saturday morning. They say they have selected a contractor from Utica to do the work.
The building, located at 921-925 North State Street, is only fifteen feet from the roadway. When it partially collapsed two weeks ago, the DOT closed I-81 because of safety concerns. Earlier Friday, the City and State announced they had come to an agreement for sharing the costs of the demolition. The City will pay for $100,000 of the demolition and $50,000 of police services. The state will pay the remainder.
In a press release the DOT says the demolition will clear the way for I-81 to reopen next week.
The DOT says their emergency construction contractor C.P. Ward Inc. of Monroe County will oversee the project. That company, working with DOT officials, selected low-bidder Ritter & Paratore Contracting, Inc. of Utica, to demolish the building. Representatives of that company will be on site Saturday, March 13.
The DOT says the first step of the process will be to prepare the site by building a substantial fence or barricade to restrict access to the area before asbestos abatement begins. The project schedule says demolition will progress so that I-81 can be reopened next week. To accomplish this, employees will work around the clock.
Four other companies submitted bids ranging from $467,000 to $789,000. No companies from Syracuse were involved.
The DOT says that for the safety of the public, North State Street between Butternut Street and Catawba Street will be closed to through traffic during the demolition. They will announce detour information once a demolition date is determined.
They add that reopening I-81 will allow the planned construction to take place at Erie Boulevard at West Street. That project was postponed to keep traffic moving smoothly through the city.
Deal reached to demolish building next to Route 81
Syracuse (WSYR-TV) – The Syracuse Mayor’s office has just announced it has reached a deal with the state to demolish the crumbling building adjacent to Route 81, that has forced the highway to shutdown for two weeks.
Mayor Stephanie A. Miner and Dan Young, regional representative for New York State Governor David Paterson, held a news conference in the lobby of City Hall just before 6:00 p.m. to announce the specifics of the agreement.
While there is still no exact date for demolition, the costs for the city have been agreed upon. Previously, the State had asked the City to pay for 30% of the cost - whatever the total. Under the agreement announced Friday evening, however, Mayor Miner says the City will only pay for up to $100,000 of the demolition, and for up to $50,000 for police and traffic details.
They also announced that pre-demolition meetings will be held this weekend. Bids, accepted Thursday evening and Friday morning, will be opened and winning bid will be selected.
Mayor Miner says the city will try to recoup money from the property owner, but they are not optimistic about being able to get that money.
She also said that she is confident that I-81 will be reopened in time for the NCAA Semifinals.
Stay with NewsChannel 9 and 9wsyr.com for updates.
DOT secures temporary easement for building threatening I-81
Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - State DOT says they have secured a temporary easement, allowing them to enter the collapsing building that forced part of Route 81 to close. The City and State are now reviewing bids for the demolition.
Bids to take down the building and remove the debris were due by noon Friday. Once a winning bid is selected, they will be able to release a final cost for the project. They hope to decide by Monday. The total cost of demolition has been a sticking point in negotiations with the city.
Stay with NewsChannel 9 for updates.
Still no deal to demolish building and reopen I-81
Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - 12 days after part of Route 81 was closed, the State and the City of Syracuse are still without an agreement on how to pay for the demolition of a dilapidated building that forced the closure. As they negotiate, as many as 50,000 drivers are being forced to take the detour each day.
Mayor Stephanie Miner says not only does the city not have the money to take the building down and clean-up the mess, but they don't think it's their responsibility. While it's in the City of Syracuse, it partially collapsed onto a highway that is maintained by the state.
Common Councilor Bill Ryan agrees with the Mayor. "Unfortunately there are a lot of legal frustrations and financial frustrations that the taxpayer is not necessarily aware of, they're only feeling the frustration of not being able to get from point A to point B."
Common Councilor Lance Denno says the Council only has about $500,000 left in their annual tear-down budget. "This single project would basically eat up the entire budget city wide," he said.
While Common Councilor Pat Hogan says that he sympathizes with the thousands of commuters caught up in the bureaucracy and detours, his responsibility is to the people who live and pay taxes in the city. "We have 1200 vacant buildings in the city of Syracuse that many of the neighborhood groups would love to have knocked down but we have to weigh that as money we can't use for DPW, police, fire."
"The city is hard-strapped," said Common Council President Van Robinson, "Just like all other entities of government and we have to preserve every penny that we can just to assure we can deliver services to the residents of the city."
Both the city and the state say demolition negotiations are on-going.
Syracuse mayor discusses Route 81 building demolition
Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - The mayor of Syracuse says she won't allow the state to force her into a deal to tear down a dilapidated building that's threatening to fall on Route 81.
Northbound traffic along the highway has been closed for 11 days as the two sides continue to fight over who will pay to tear it down, clean it up and get the interstate open again.
Commuters who travel from the city of Syracuse into the suburbs each day are the ones affected the most by the bureaucratic back and forth. Many drivers say the situation has added an extra 15-20 minutes onto their commutes, and have been demanding answers.
Tuesday, NewsChannel 9 asked Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner about the 70/30 deal the State Department of Transportation offered the city of Syracuse, where the state would pick up 70 percent of the cost.
Miner questions how much the full project will cost. "70/30 of what? You want me to sign a blank check for the citizens of the city? I can't do that; I won't accept an IOU from Albany!" Miner said.
While many drivers may not care who takes responsibility for the cleanup, and may be sick of the back and forth, there is the issue of where the money to fund the cleanup will come. "I have a 35 million dollar deficit and this building I was told would cost $2 million to take it down, so do city tax payers want me to take $2 million I don't currently have to take down a building that is ultimately the responsibility of the State DOT? No they don't," answered Miner.
When asked by NewsChannel 9 if the Mayor's office has an obligation to meet the state half-way in getting the building down and the highway back open, Miner responded. "I have put $100,000 on the table, so yes we are willing to help, but don't try to put the full liability, don't back track on commitments, don't negotiate in the press, make a commitment and stick to it and lets move forward together as quickly as possible in a partnership to open 81."
Late Monday afternoon, the Department of Environmental Conservation finished removing all of the hazardous chemicals from the building. It should be ready for demolition once an agreement is reached.
