North of downtown Cortland, I-81 makes a 90-degree turn to the north, matching a similar curve in the course of the nearby river. This track brings the freeway to the suburban village of Homer, which I-81 connects to via exit 12. The trumpet interchange feeds into a long east–west ramp linking the highway to the parallel US 11, NY 41 and NY 281, another parallel road farther west. NY 41 leaves US 11 in Homer, and I-81, US 11, and NY 281 proceed slightly northeastward across a low-lying, undeveloped area in an otherwise hilly region of Cortland County. Just south of the Onondaga County line, I-81 directly meets NY 281 as it crosses from the western side of the freeway to the eastern edge. They meet one final time across the county line near the village of Tully, where NY 281 ends as I-81 intersects NY 80 and NY 11A. The west branch of the Tioughnioga River also terminates here, flowing into Tully Lake at the county line.