NYSDOT Contractor to Begin Preparing North State Street Site for Demolition Tomorrow

ALBANY, NY (03/12/2010)(readMedia)-- New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) Acting Commissioner Stanley Gee today announced plans to demolish the privately-owned building whose partial collapse threatened and forced the closure of the northbound lanes of Interstate 81 (I-81). NYSDOT filed Temporary Easements Maps in the Onondaga County Clerk's Office at 2:40 PM today, giving the Department or its agents access to the site so that preparations to demolish the building, located at 921-925 North State Street in Syracuse, can begin as soon as tomorrow morning. The demolition will clear the way for NYSDOT to reopen I-81 next week.

"Removing the threat of this unsafe and unstable building will enable us to assure the safety of the roadway and restore traffic to the northbound lanes of I-81 in Syracuse next week," Acting Commissioner Gee said. "We appreciate the patience travelers have shown in dealing with this inconvenience. Under the leadership of Governor David A. Paterson, who mobilized state resources to help remove hazardous material at the site prior to its demolition, DOT has been able to work with its emergency contractor to achieve the lowest bids possible to demolish this building. We thank and look forward to continuing to work cooperatively with Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner and agencies of the City of Syracuse as we move forward with this project."

The State of New York and the City of Syracuse share an interest in the demolition and removal of the structure because the building poses a threat, not just to the public health and safety of citizens in the City, but also to the safe operation of I-81. As part of a shared services agreement, the City of Syracuse is contracting with NYSDOT for the State to assist the City in executing the provisions of the City's administrative demolition order. The City will be contributing $100,000 and police services valued at up to $50,000 to the project.

NYSDOT turned to its emergency construction contractor, C.P. Ward Inc. of Scottsville, Monroe County, to oversee the demolition project. The company, in consultation with NYSDOT officials, today selected low-bidder Ritter & Paratore Contracting, Inc. of Utica, Oneida County, to demolish the building, and the company will be on-site on Saturday, March 13, to begin to prepare it in order to assure that the building can be brought down safely. The contractor will begin by erecting a substantial fence or barricade to restrict access to the demolition site before asbestos abatement begins. The project schedule calls for the demolition to progress so that I-81 can be reopened next week.

Ritter & Paratore were among four bidders for the project, including Abscope Environmental Inc., Canestota, NY; Sessler Wrecking, Waterloo, NY; and, A J Montclair Inc., Central Square, NY. The successful low bidder, Ritter & Pastore will demolish the building, dispose of the debris and restore the site. Bids ranged from $467,000 to $789,000. The contractor will work daily from sunrise to sunset, weather permitting, to take the building down so that I-81 can be reopened. After that, work will continue until the State can assure that the site is safe and properly secured.

To assure the safety of motorists and pedestrians, North State Street (Route 11) between Butternut Street and Catawba Street, will be closed to through traffic during the demolition. Detour information will be announced in a travel advisory once the demolition date has been determined.

Reopening I-81 will enable construction to begin on improvements to Erie Boulevard at West Street in Syracuse, a NYSDOT project that was postponed earlier this week in order to keep traffic moving as smoothly as possible in the city while the I-81 closure is in effect.

NYSDOT officials have been concerned that pieces of the unstable, four-story brick building which partially collapsed under the weight of a heavy snowfall nearly two weeks ago, could land on the three-lane highway, which is only 15 feet away. As a precaution, NYSDOT closed the northbound lanes of I-81 just north of downtown Syracuse between the I-690 interchange and Court Street on February 26 to assure the safety of the traveling public.

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