The New York State Department of Transportation has several guardrails in place to protect the community living near the Interstate 81 viaduct against pollution harm as construction on the I-81 Viaduct Project continues.
Tacky mats use an adhesive to trap dirt, dust and other contaminants that shoe soles may carry.
The I-81 viaduct is expected to close around the end of 2026 before the seven-phase removal takes place. The project is estimated to complete by mid-2028.
Residents should put these mats outside the front door or the entrance to their house to reduce the amount of dust that is tracked through their homes, said Elizabeth Parmley, who leads the I-81 project in Syracuse.
The DOT urged people to keep using them until the mats are no longer sticky. More mats are available at the DOT outreach centers at the Hills Building , located at 217 Montgomery St. in downtown Syracuse, and the Tucker Missionary Baptist Church, located at 515 Oakwood Ave.
The DOT has also collaborated with community leaders to get the mats to people who live in the footprint of the project.
“These aren’t just being distributed throughout the city and being used by people that don’t actually live right in the community,” Parmley told Central Current.
Some residents like Jackie LaSonde, who runs the Greater Syracuse Southside Neighborhood Association food pantry, alleged that multiple houses in the footprints do not have the mats yet. LaSonde believes mats should be distributed door to door, adding that officials should knock on people’s doors and explain ways in which residents can protect themselves.
However, the DOT has resource constraints.
“As much as we would love to go door to door, that takes out resources. So if we can work with our community partners and get this to people that they know are not getting them,” Parmley said. “ We want to partner with our community groups to make sure people are getting the tacky mats.”
This is one of the major reasons why the DOT picked the Tucker Missionary Outreach Center, Murphy told Central Current.
“Tucker is a popular community safe haven for the people and so that was really important for us to make sure that we’re within the footprint so people can reach,” project PIO TeNesha Murphy said.
Residents who cannot get to the outreach centers can call or email the DOT to get the mats delivered to them, Murphy said.
When a person comes to pick up a mat, they get access to only one. A little purple tab at the back of the mat indicates the sticky side that needs to be laid out flat on the floor.
When the mats’ lose their stickiness, the top layer can be pulled off and thrown away. Each tacky mat comes with 30 peel-offs and should last folks at least two months depending on usage.
“You don’t need to change it every single day, unless you have a lot of foot traffic that it’s not sticky anymore,” Parmley said.
The DOT is also providing informational magnets and health tip sheets. A community hotline was also announced earlier in May. Residents can call for assistance with the potential fallout of construction, especially air pollution and lead paint and dust contamination.
The DOT has nine air quality monitors placed adjacent to ongoing construction work, including Wilson Park, Van Buren and Colvin streets as their “first line of defense.”
This alerts the agency when the levels go beyond the EPA threshold. If the DOT notices worsening air quality, contractors are encouraged to take corrective action, including using water and wetting the area. The DOT has also encouraged contractors to maintain noise levels below 70 decibels, which is nearly 10 decibels lower than daily highway traffic noise levels.
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