Interstate 481
Map of Syracuse, New York with I-481 highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route ofI-81
Maintained byNYSDOT
Length	15.04 mi[1] (24.20 km)
Existed	January 1, 1970[2]–present
NHS	Entire route
Major junctions
South end	I-81 inSyracuse
Major intersections	I-690 inEast Syracuse I-90 Toll /New York Thruway inDeWitt
North end	I-81 /NY 481 inNorth Syracuse
Location
Country	United States
State	New York
Counties	Onondaga
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future New York Highways Interstate US State Reference Parkways
←I-478 →NY 481
←NY 280 →NY 281

Interstate 481 (I-481) is anauxiliary Interstate Highway that serves as an eastern bypass ofSyracuse, New York, in the US. Its southern end is at its southern interchange with its parent,I-81, in the city of Syracuse and curves east, north and finally west through the Syracuse suburbs ofJamesville,DeWitt andCicero before terminating at its northern interchange with I-81 nearNorth Syracuse. (New York State Route 481 (NY 481) continues as a divided expressway northwest toClay,Phoenix andFulton and then predominantly as a two-lane highway toOswego.) I-481 is part of theVeterans Memorial Highway, which extends northward onto NY 481. By 2026, I-481 will be decommissioned by a reroute of I-81 onto the freeway.^[3]

I-481 begins atI-81's exit 82 (exit 1A on I-81), adirectional T interchange in the South Valley section of the city ofSyracuse. Immediately crossing underNY 173, I-481 proceeds eastward alongside Rock Cut Road (unsignedCounty Route 103 [CR 103]), which meets the freeway at exit 83 heading east. I-481 crosses out of Syracuse and into the town ofOnondaga, paralleling Rock Cut Road intoClark Reservation State Park. The Interstate Highway makes a bend to the northeast, crossing over tracks used by theNew York, Susquehanna and Western Railway and entering exit 85, which connects to Jamesville Road (CR 7).^[4]

After exit 2, I-481 makes a bend to the north, crossing east of Butternut Creek Golf Course as it crosses into the town ofDeWitt. In DeWitt, I-481 enters an interchange (exit 87) withNY 5 andNY 92 (East Genesee Street) just west of the hamlet of Lyndon. After the junction, I-481 continues bending to the northeast, crossing the west end of Old Erie Canal State Park and east of White Chapel Memory Gardens before entering a large interchange with the eastern terminus ofI-690. Just north of the interchange, I-481 crosses overNY 290 (Manlius Center Road) andCSX Transportation's DeWitt Yard. A short distance after the railroad, I-481 enters exit 90, which connects to Kirkville Road (CR 53).^[4]

After the interchange with CR 53, I-481 continues northward through DeWitt, paralleling Fly Road (CR 77). A short distance later, I-481 crosses over theNew York State Thruway (I-90) and enters exit 91, atrumpet interchange leading to exit 34A of the Thruway. A short distance after the Thruway, I-481 enters apartial cloverleaf interchange withNY 298 (Collamer Road). The freeway continues northeast, crossing over East Taft Road (CR 18) in DeWitt before bending northwest into the town ofCicero. In Cicero, I-481 enters an interchange (exit 95) with Northern Boulevard (CR 82). A short distance to the west in the town ofNorth Syracuse, I-481 enters exit 96, a cloverleaf interchange with exit 11 on I-81. At this junction, the designation of I-481 ends whileNY 481 continues northwestward towardOswego.^[4]

What is now I-481 was originally proposed as parts of two separate highways bypassing the city ofSyracuse. From theNew York State Thruway (I-90) inDeWitt^[2] southwest toI-81 in the south end of Syracuse, the highway was originally designated as I-281.^[5] North of the thruway, modern I-481 was initially part of "Relocated Route 57", a proposedlimited-access highway extending fromNY 57 inFulton to the thruway in DeWitt viaNorth 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.^[2]

The first section of the highway to be constructed was the portion between Jamesville Road andNY 5. Work on this portion of the freeway beganc. 1963[6] and was completed and opened to traffic by 1965.^[7] Construction of I-281, and later I-481, initially progressed northward from NY 5. The segment between Lyndon andI-690 was opened to traffic in the early 1970s,^[8][9] while the piece between I-690 and the thruway was completed by 1977.^[10] 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.^[11][12] The last portion of the route from the thruway to I-81 in North Syracuse was completed south ofNY 298 by 1985^[13] and finished by 1990.^[14]

As part of the demolition and replacement of I-81 throughDowntown Syracuse, I-481 will be redesignated as I-81, while the current route of I-81 will be redesignated as I-81 Business (I-81 Bus). As part of the project, both interchanges between I-81 and I-481 will be reconstructed. The ramps would be expanded to carry more traffic to account for the increased traffic. Also as part of the project, I-481 would be expanded to three lanes each way between exits 89 (I-690) and 90 (Kirkville Road); to three lanes northbound between exits 90 and 91 (I-90); and to three lanes southbound between exits 96 (I-81) and 95 (Northern Boulevard). Construction started in May 2022 and take five years to complete.^[15][16][17] However, in May 2021, GovernorAndrew Cuomo announced the project would not commence until the following year. At this time, the New York state government allocated $800 million to the "community grid" plan.^[18] In preparation for the reconstruction/relocation of I-81 around Syracuse, theAmerican Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), at its annual Spring Meeting in May 2021, conditionally approved theNew York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT)'s application to reroute I-81 over I-481 around the east side of Syracuse and redesignate I-81 through Syracuse as I-81 Bus, pending concurrence from theFederal Highway Administration (FHWA). The I-481 designation will be eliminated once these route changes have been completed.^[19]

Exit numbers follow I-81's future rerouting around Syracuse. The entire route is inOnondaga County.

Location	mi[20]	km	Old exit	New exit	Destinations	Notes
Syracuse	0.00	0.00	–	81	I-81 –Syracuse,Binghamton	Southern terminus; exit 81 on I-81
			1	81-82	Brighton Avenue / Rock Cut Road	Rock Cut Road not signed southbound
DeWitt	3.33	5.36	2	84	Jamesville Road –Jamesville
	5.14	8.27	3	86	NY 5 /NY 92 –DeWitt,Fayetteville	Signed as exits 86A (east) and 86B (west) northbound
	6.40	10.30	4	88	I-690 west –Syracuse,Fairgrounds	Eastern terminus of I-690
	8.32	13.39	5	89	Kirkville Road	Signed as exits 89A (east) and 89B (west)
	9.45	15.21	6	90	I-90 Toll /New York Thruway –Albany,Buffalo	Exit 34A on I-90 / Thruway
	10.20	16.42	7	91	NY 298 –Bridgeport
Cicero	13.48	21.69	8	95	Northern Boulevard
	15.08	24.27	9	96	I-81 –Watertown,Syracuse	Signed as exits 96A (north) and 96B (south); exit 11 on I-81
					NY 481 north –Oswego	Continuation north
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Electronic toll collection

• New York State Route 481

Wikimedia Commons has media related toInterstate 481.

• Interstate 481 atAlps' Roads • New York Routes • Upstate New York Roads

• Interstate Highways in New York (state)
• Auxiliary Interstate Highways
• Interstate 81
• Transportation in Onondaga County, New York
• Transportation in Syracuse, New York
• Central New York
• DeWitt, New York

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