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Judge allows NYS to do paperwork on 81 project while lawsuit moves forward

The Interstate 81 reconstruction project is still stalled in the courts, but state officials will be able to get back to work on portions of it, after a court ruling Monday.

In November, an order from State Supreme Court Judge Gerard Neri stopped all work on the $2.25 billion project, after a group called Renew 81 sued the state. It contends the state Department of Transportation didn’t follow the proper environmental review rules that led to the decision to replace an aging 1.4-mile elevated viaduct with a community grid.

But with construction and contract deadlines looming, the state asked that a temporary restraining order be amended, to allow some necessary paperwork to continue in the background, as both sides move toward a January court date. The state argued if certain approvals aren’t met, it’ll costs upwards of $1 million to redo the bidding process, as well as set the project back at least a year.

Judge Neri agreed, allowing the paperwork. But Neri emphasized the state can’t do any site work. Alan Knauf, the lawyer presenting Renew 81 says that’s okay.

"We didn’t have a problem with them doing paperwork, that’s okay. We just didn’t want them on the ground, doing work before the proper environmental review is done,” said Knauf. “And the judge says they’re not going to do that. So the important thing is there’s no construction, land clearing, utility relocation."

The state has spent 14 years trying to come up with a way to deal with the crumbling viaduct that splits the city in half. It chose the community grid option in the summer, which would re-route high-speed traffic around the city on Interstate 481.

Opponents, including suburban towns, hope a lawsuit can scuttle that plan. The two sides meet in court on January 12, just a few days before a deadline to sign a contract that gets the project underway.

Ellen produces news reports and features related to events that occur in the greater Syracuse area and throughout Onondaga County. Her reports are heard regularly in regional updates in Morning Edition and All Things Considered.