SYRACUSE --
Detours - and headaches - for thousands of drivers on Route 81 North are nearing an end. On Monday, contractors from Ritter and Paratore were making final preparations to demolish the collapsing building on North State Street that threatens the highway.
"We'll be working from both sides, from 81 and from this corner and working towards the one story building and then we'll do some hand work in the alley to get the brick wall down," said Steve Brooks from Ritter and Paratore Contracting.
Before things get better for drivers , they will get a little harder. In addition to the current closure on 81 North, part of North State Street will be closed so crews can bring in heavy machinery.
"We have 11 days to get 81 open - and hopefully we won't use all of them," said Brooks on Monday.
The collapsing building's owner says the costs of the demolition are greatly exaggerated. He also knows the City of Syracuse and New York State will come after him for reimbursement but doesn't have means to pay. He says New York State won't let him salvage building materials - even wooden timbers that could be worth thousands of dollars each.
"It's a big rush job so you can get home from work but it's not my choice, the price is not my choice," said Anthony Tartaro. "I've been kept out of that loop altogether."
Steve Brooks says they will be careful bringing the building down, but he understands that commuters and thousands of fans coming to the Carrier Dome for the NCAA Tournament next weekend are counting on his crew.
"I'm a basketball fan myself so I can see the importance of having it," said Brooks.
Brooks added that the contract with the state specifies that all debris - valuable or not - will be taken to an asbestos certified landfill.
This evening, a D.O.T. spokesperson tells CNYCentral, "There have been some reports that the building will come down on Wednesday...while we were hoping that we can begin to take that building down on Wednesday, there's paperwork and processes and approvals that still have to be obtained, so until everything is done and weather permitting, we'll go ahead on Wednesday But it's not set in stone".
