sentences:  The section between modern exits 38 and 41 in southern Jefferson County was finished in November 1961, and the gap between the Syracuse–Parish and Jefferson County segments was filled on December 1, 1961, creating a continuous limited-access highway between Syracuse and Watertown.I-81 was opened to traffic from the Pennsylvania state line north to NY 17 in Kirkwood in mid-1961, and the piece linking Pamelia to the Canadian border was completed on September 29, 1965.Three more sections of I-81 were finished to traffic in the mid-1960s, completing all of I-81 within the state except for the portion between NY 221 in Marathon and NY 26 in Whitney Point.