Syracuse, N.Y. – A group opposing plans to tear down a portion of Interstate 81 in Syracuse have a new idea:
Rebuild the elevated highway and name it “The Harriet Tubman Memorial Freedom Bridge.”
The idea came from one of Tubman’s descendants, Pauline Copes Johnson, according to Charles Garland, who organized an announcement today about the proposal.
It comes as state and federal transportation officials after a decade of study are proposing to remove the highway bridges that loom over a public housing neighborhood and reroute highway traffic onto nearby Interstate 481.
Before today, those who supported the idea for a massive bridge were calling it the “skyway.” They’ve provided no detailed engineering plans. Weeks ago, Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh called the “skyway” a pie-in-the-sky” idea. Garland said he doesn’t know the exact size of the bridge he’s proposing.
Today, Garland, a funeral director who is also running for the Onondaga County Legislature, said the idea for naming the bridge came from Johnson about a month ago.
Since then, he said, she and her family have been collecting signatures and have asked President Joe Biden, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Gov. Kathy Hochul and others to rethink the highway’s future.
The concept comes with a website, a YouTube video and a copy of the petition with about 80 signatures. The video, which shows a massive, well-lit bridge spanning Syracuse, uses theme music from Netflix’s “The Crown.”
Garland has spent the summer advocating for a “Skyway,” an elevated bridge that keeps I-81 flowing through Syracuse instead of the state’s rerouting plan.
A group of Harriet Tubman's descendants are calling for a new I-81 bridge named after the abolitionist. Source: Provided by Charles Garland
Garland said the proposed bridge would be 70 feet tall. The height of the current highway ranges from 22 to 26 feet, according to the state’s Department of Transportation.
He said he did not know how wide the new bridge would be, but he did not think it would require the removal of any buildings. The video shows the new bridge with some, but not all, of Syracuse’s current skyline near the highway.
Past analysis by state transportation engineers estimated erecting a taller and wider highway over Almond Street would raze nearly two dozen buildings.
Garland said the group made the announcement today to celebrate Johnson’s birthday. She turned 94 on Monday, he said.
He said he also hopes the idea sparks more discussions about the highway project during the current public comment period.
The state Department of Transportation is taking comments from people on the $2 billion project through Sept. 14.
Tubman, an abolitionist and “conductor” of the Underground Railroad lived in Auburn (about 30 miles west of Syracuse) from 1859 until her death in 1913. She escaped from slavery and conducted more than a dozen missions to rescue numerous enslaved people, including family and friends.
Garland said many of her descendants live in the Central New York and Rochester area.
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