City Supervisor Joel R. Bartlett is back to work on the connecting road construction, while addressing several aspects of the project.

He and other city officials have long had a goal of reducing heavy traffic along Outer Arsenal Street by connecting Route 12F, or Outer Coffeen Street, to Route 3, also known as the Outer Street. Arsenal.

If built, motorists would no longer have to drive on outer Arsenal Street to get between the mall and Walmart, Bartlett said.

The majority of the connecting road would be built on vacant land between the new Morgan development and Walmart.

The city would pay for the construction of the connecting road.

Its cost has not been established, Bartlett said, adding that the plan would be to use the city’s American Rescue Plan Act funding and other city funds. The city received $ 428,000 in ARPA money.

The major hurdle in getting the highway project back on track came with Morgan Management’s presentation last month with plans to build the 357-unit townhouse off of Route 202 and across from the housing development. in row of 394 units which was built eight years ago.

“It fell apart when Morgan didn’t complete his project,” said Pamela D. DeSormo, city clerk and co-chair of the planning council, adding that the project was back on track.

When the connecting road was first proposed, the city, Morgan Management and Pyramid Management Group all agreed to complete the new road, she said.

The town planning council on Tuesday approved the site plans for the development of 357 townhouses.

The vacant land where the connecting road would be built has already been subdivided from Morgan’s development, so the project can move forward, Ms. DeSormo said.

That ownership was also transferred from Morgan to the city in 2015, Ms. DeSormo said.

Mr. Bartlett is also negotiating with Pyramid Management Group, the developer of the Syracuse Mall that owns the Salmon Run Mall, to connect the road to the mall.

“When they’re done with this discussion, I don’t know,” Bartlett said.

If negotiations are successful, the connecting road would include the loop road at the back of the mall property, pass behind Walmart, connect to route 202, and cross that road with a new segment that makes a bend and ultimately ends. to Highway 3. The connecting road would connect with Outer Coffeen Street via an existing road, Salmon Run Mall Road, which is just north of the mall.

A traffic light would be installed at the new intersection at the entrance to Target Square, near the old Bed, Bath and Beyond store, Bartlett said.

The city is acquiring the land between Route 202 and Route 3 from Watertown developer PJ Simao that would be used for the project, he said.

At the Jefferson County Planning Council meeting last week, senior county planner Andy Nevin urged the city to also connect Morgan Townhouse development property to the connecting road.

But members of the town planning council and Mark Costich, whose company is designing the townhouse project, said they were opposed to the idea, saying it would increase traffic in a residential area.

If built, the new road would be handed over to Jefferson County.

Over a decade ago, Route 202 was another connecting road that the Town of Watertown initiated to ease traffic through the town’s northwest corridor.