A New York state supreme court judge has granted project opponents’ request for a temporary restraining order to halt a $2.3-billion effort to replace the aging Interstate-81 viaduct in Syracuse, N.Y., with a street grid format.

The injunction, issued on Nov. 10 by Judge Gerard H. Neri, prohibits the state transportation department from advancing project design or construction pending resolution of opponents' lawsuit, with oral arguments set for Jan. 12.

Advocacy group Renew 81 for All, which opposes the I-81 project in its current "community grid" form, and several other groups, sought the injunction in a September lawsuit.

Removal of the I-81 viaduct passed a key milestone in September with firms shortlisted for the first phase of design-build work submitting proposals, Nicolas Choubah, state DOT chief engineer said Sept. 16 at anENR Infrastructure eventin New York City. He said that with contract award, construction was expected to start in late 2022 and continue through 2025. A second contact was also set to be issued by December.

The injunction is “another unnecessary delay,” Syracuse Mayor Ben Welsh said in a statement. The project "should continue to move ahead, and I look forward to the state’s response to the judge’s ruling.” Welsh points to the project’s community outreach related to environmental impacts and local job development and training.

State DOT spokesman Joseph Morrissey declined comment to ENR on whether the state is appealing the injunction and on how the injunction would affect project schedule.

莫里西（Morrissey）早些时候告诉Syracuse.com，州长凯西·霍克尔（Kathy Hochul）的政府“致力于全州的项目，这些项目消除了过去的规划决定的损害，这些决策使隔离，18luck官网边缘化和容易受到环境和健康挑战的有色人种社区。”

I-81计划在5月获得了联邦环境批准和州资金。

The plan calls for demolishing the I-81 viaduct through downtown Syracuse and replacing it with a new "business loop 81." The state also planned to reconnect neighborhoods through a network of streets and rebuild portions of Interstates 481 and 490 to allow high-speed traffic.

倡导小组在其诉讼中声称，该项目不符合州环境规则，并得到了有缺陷的审查的支持，该审查没有考虑具有较少的负面环境，商业，社会，社会和交通影响的替代方案。

welsh defended the project’s rigorous multi-year state and federal reviews.

In a defense against the injunction, state Assistant Attorney General Meredith Lee-Clark raised concerns about costs of delay to the state if contacts can't be finalized.