You forget who made that initial decision - the city did. Rte 81 was completed to the city limits by 1957, it was also completed north from Watertown to Brewerton. The city held out to complete it by the early ‘60’s so they could tear down the parts of the city that they thought brought the most benefit to it’s development. The county didn’t even have a county executive back then, it was a board made up of individual supervisors representing their individual town. The city, just like now wanted the final say in determining route 81 - the suburbs didn’t destroy the city - the city itself did by trying to use an interstate transportation route for gentrification, development , business concern reasons - which sounds much like the same reasons and quest for the city alone to be the only factor for rerouting and deciding the future of Rte 81 again.