NYSDOT starts $20 million paving projects on Route 5 and Route 13

New York State DOT announced more than $20 million in paving on the Route 5 bypass in Camillus and State Route 13 between Ithaca and Dryden, a stretch of work that will resurface 56 lane miles across Onondaga and Tompkins counties. For commuters in western Onondaga County, the largest local piece is an $8.5 million project on the Route 5 bypass from Old Route 5 to Route 695.

The Camillus job covers about 28 lane miles and is aimed at improving ride quality on one of the county’s key travel corridors. State officials also said the Route 13 work in Tompkins County will include road surface and intersection improvements, not just a new layer of pavement, stretching from the north Ithaca city line in the City and Town of Ithaca to just east of Irish Settlement Road/George Road in the Town of Dryden. That project is budgeted at $13.8 million and covers roughly 28 lane miles.

Together, the two projects are part of a statewide 2026 paving plan that Governor Kathy Hochul has described as the largest NYSDOT paving investment in history. The plan is backed by $800 million in the state budget and totals nearly 2,150 lane miles statewide, with work spread across every region of New York.

For Onondaga County drivers, the practical question is whether the money is going to the roads that frustrate residents most, especially the Route 5 corridor that carries daily traffic in and out of Camillus and toward the regional highway network. NYSDOT Region 9 has said its transportation mission includes serving parks and historic places, scenery, water and wildlife, a priority that fits the Route 13 corridor’s role in connecting residents and visitors to destinations in the Ithaca area as well as the surrounding towns.

Marie Therese Dominguez, the state transportation commissioner, announced the projects June 25. The agency said the paving work is already underway, putting two of Central New York’s busiest arterials into the 2026 construction season and into a summer of slower travel before the roads are expected to come back in better shape.