BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Late last week, New York state Supreme Court Justice Emilio Colaiacovo issued a preliminary injunction which will stop the state from moving forward with its plans to overhaul Buffalo's Kensington Expressway until he makes a final ruling on the merits of a challenge by a community group called the East Side Parkways Coalition.

The ruling comes after Colaicovo previously granted and extended a temporary restraining order. Attorney Adam Walters said the judge appeared to agree with the group's argument the state Department of Transportation was required to conduct a more thorough review called an Environmental Impact Statement it previously bypassed.

"Now he needs to make a decision on the final merits. That decision: Is he going to order the DOT to do an EIS? And today he reserved decision on that but obviously we think the decision on Friday really shows he was leaning our way," Walters said.

The injunction will officially be in place once petitioners post a $100,000 bond meant to alleviate costs the state is taking on as a result of delays. Walters said the DOT could start working on the study right away if it wants to avoid further delays that elected leaders have noted could threaten the project altogether.

"The main point here and the judge said this right today, why didn't you do an environmental impact statement? They made a decision to try and kind of end-run things, avoid doing that deeper analysis and it's that very analysis that's really going to protect this neighborhood," he said.

Colaicovo is hearing multiple cases simultaneously challenging the projected billion dollar project which includes plans to build a three-quarter mile tunnel over part of the expressway with green space above. On Monday, he focused on those challenges, including arguments the state is violating its Green Amendment to the Constitution and the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. Attorney Alan Bozer argued the state never had the right to build the expressway in the first place because the area was protected park land, not a parkway.

"The remedy would be to put the park back where it was, that it was improperly destroyed and the city of Buffalo will have back a park land from Humboldt Park, all the way to Delaware Park," Bozer said.

The state argued there is clear statute allowing it build over parkways and there is a clear delineation between parkways and parks. It also argued restoring the original parkway would create severe traffic issues. However, community member Sherry Sherrill said the tunnel is a bad idea.

"Since the expressway was constructed it has damaged Humboldt Parkway. It has damaged the east side of our city. It has damaged the city of Buffalo. It has harmed Humboldt Parkway residents. The only sane, logical and healthy solution for the Kensington Expressway is to retire it and to remove it," she said.

The judge plans to make his decisions within sixty days. The DOT issued a statement Friday saying:

"New York State remains committed to the Kensington Expressway Project, which from its very beginnings has been a community-driven effort intended to reconnect the neighborhoods of East Buffalo, provide much-needed greenspace, and restore the quality of life and vibrancy that was taken from the community decades ago. The State is reviewing today's judicial decision. We will have no further comment at this time."