Interstate 481

Interstate 481

Map of New York with I-481 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NYSDOT
Length: 15.08 mi[2] (24.27 km)
Existed: January 1, 1970[1] – present
History: Completed in 1986
Major junctions
South end: I-81 in Syracuse
  I-90 / Thruway in DeWitt
North end: I-81 / NY 481 in North Syracuse
Highway system

Auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System
Main • Auxiliary • Business

Numbered highways in New York
Interstate • U.S. • N.Y. (former) • Reference • County

← I-478 NY 481 →
← NY 280 NY 281 →

Interstate 481 (I-481) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway that serves as an eastern bypass of Syracuse, New York, in the United States. It begins at its parent, I-81, in the city's southern end and travels through the eastern Syracuse suburbs of Jamesville, DeWitt, and Cicero before rejoining I-81 in the suburb of North Syracuse. After crossing I-81 in North Syracuse, I-481 continues northwest to Fulton and Oswego as NY 481. I-481 is part of the Veterans Memorial Highway, which extends northward onto NY 481.

Contents

Route description

Interstate 481 begins at a directional T interchange with I-81 in the southern portion of the city of Syracuse. It proceeds eastward alongside the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway for 2 miles (3.2 km) before traveling between Clark Reservation State Park and the Drumlins Golf Club. From here, the superhighway turns northeast while traveling near the Butternut Creek Golf Course. It meets Jamesville Road at exit 2 before intersecting with the concurrent routes of NY 5 and NY 92 at exit 3 in the DeWitt hamlet of Lyndon. A full cloverleaf interchange is offered, allowing traffic separate entrance and exit ramps in each direction so there are no left turns.[3]

Continuing north, the freeway passes alongside the west end of Old Erie Canal State Park as it connects to the eastern terminus of Interstate 690 at exit 4. The interchange features left-side exit and entrance ramps between I-481 northbound and I-690. There are also some extraneous exit and entrance ramps here,[3] as I-690 was originally slated to continue east beyond this point. Just north of I-690, I-481 passes over both NY 290 and the west end of the CSX Transportation-owned DeWitt Yard. A cloverleaf interchange with Kirkville Road (exit 5) is next, followed by a trumpet interchange (exit 6) to provide access to the New York State Thruway (I-90).[3]

Past the Thruway, a parclo interchange with NY 298 (exit 7) provides access to the northeastern part of the town of DeWitt and some nearby office parks. As the highway enters the town of Cicero, it makes a wide, sweeping turn westward, connecting to Northern Boulevard at exit 8 before it once again meets I-81 at exit 9 in North Syracuse. While the Interstate Highway designation ends here, the limited-access highway continues onward in a northwesterly direction toward Fulton and Oswego as NY 481.[3]

History

What is now I-481 was originally proposed as parts of two separate highways bypassing the city of Syracuse. From the New York State Thruway (I-90) in DeWitt[1] southwest to I-81 in the south end of Syracuse, the highway was originally designated as I-281.[4] North of the Thruway, modern I-481 was initially part of "Relocated Route 57", a proposed limited-access highway extending from NY 57 in Fulton to the Thruway in DeWitt via North Syracuse. All of I-281 and the segment of Relocated Route 57 east of I-81 in North Syracuse were redesignated as I-481 on January 1, 1970.[1] It is probable that the number was changed to avoid confusion with NY 281, a highway that parallels I-81 some miles south of Syracuse.

The first section of the highway to be built was the piece between Jamesville Road and NY 5. Work on this portion of the freeway began ca. 1963[5] and was completed and opened to traffic by 1965.[6] Construction of I-281, and later I-481, initially progressed northward from NY 5. The segment between Lyndon and I-690 was opened to traffic in the early 1970s,[7][8] while the piece between I-690 and the Thruway was completed by 1977.[9] To the southwest, the section of I-481 from I-81 to Jamesville Road was finished in the early 1980s, finally connecting I-481 to its parent.[10][11] The last portion of the route from the Thruway to I-81 in North Syracuse was completed south of NY 298 by 1985[12] and finished by 1990.[13]

Exit list

The entire route is in Onondaga County.

Location Mile[2] Exit Destinations Notes
Syracuse 0.00 I-81 – Syracuse, Binghamton Southbound exit and northbound entrance
1 Brighton Avenue Northbound access via Rock Cut Road
DeWitt 3.33 2 Jamesville Road – Jamesville
5.14 3E-W NY 5 / NY 92 – DeWitt, Fayetteville
6.40 4 I-690 west – Syracuse, Fairgrounds Eastern terminus of I-690
8.32 5E-W Kirkville Road
9.45 6 I-90 / Thruway – Albany, Buffalo Exit 34A on the Thruway
10.20 7 NY 298 – Bridgeport
Cicero 13.48 8 Northern Boulevard
North Syracuse 15.08 9N-S I-81 – Watertown, Syracuse Exit 29N-S on I-81
NY 481 Continuation beyond I-81
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c State of New York Department of Transportation (January 1, 1970) (PDF). Official Description of Touring Routes in New York State. http://www.greaternyroads.info/pdfs/state70.pdf. Retrieved July 13, 2010. 
  2. ^ a b "2008 Traffic Volume Report for New York State" (PDF). New York State Department of Transportation. June 16, 2009. p. 238. https://www.nysdot.gov/divisions/engineering/technical-services/hds-respository/NYSDOT%20TVR%202008%20by%20Route.pdf. Retrieved February 1, 2010. 
  3. ^ a b c d Google, Inc. Google Maps – overview map of Interstate 481 (Map). Cartography by Google, Inc. http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=from:+I-481%20N%20@43.007010,%20-76.130290+to:+I-481%20S/RT-481%20S%20@43.141434,%20-76.112544. Retrieved February 12, 2008. 
  4. ^ Esso (1963). New York Happy Motoring Guide (Map). Cartography by General Drafting (1963 ed.). 
  5. ^ Esso (1962). New York with Sight-Seeing Guide (Map). Cartography by General Drafting (1962 ed.). 
  6. ^ Mobil (1965). New York (Map). Cartography by Rand McNally and Company. 
  7. ^ State of New York Department of Commerce (1969). New York State Highways (Map). Cartography by Rand McNally and Company. 
  8. ^ Shell Oil Company (1973). New York (Map). Cartography by H.M. Gousha Company (1973 ed.). 
  9. ^ Exxon (1977). New York (Map). Cartography by General Drafting (1977–78 ed.). 
  10. ^ Exxon (1979). New York (Map). Cartography by General Drafting. 
  11. ^ State of New York (1981). I Love New York Tourism Map (Map). Cartography by Rand McNally and Company. 
  12. ^ Rand McNally and Company (1985). New York (Map). ISBN 0-528-91040-X. 
  13. ^ DeLorme Mapping (1990). Upstate New York City Street Maps (Map). 1" = 1/2 mile. Cartography by DeLorme Mapping (1st ed.). p. 19. ISBN 0-89933-300-1. 

External links

Tennessee: 181 (former) — Virginia: 381 • 581 — New York: 281 (former) • 481 • 781 (future)