BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The New York state Department of Transportation has canceled a stakeholders' meeting about the planned $1 billion Kensington Expressway project in Buffalo for the second month in a row.

This comes as litigation has put a pause on the beginning of construction. The DOT has been hosting monthly updates with stakeholders about the major infrastructure project for roughly two years but earlier this month, shortly after a judge issued a Temporary Restraining Order banning any construction from starting, the department canceled October's meeting which had been planned for that evening.

On Tuesday, the DOT sent those same stakeholders, which included block clubs, community advocates, some politicians and their staff another email notifying them November's meeting is off as well. Earlier this week, the judge extended the TRO indefinitely until he makes a decision on a motion for a more permanent preliminary injunction.

"Once we have the court's decision, we plan on meeting to discuss the path forward," the email stated.

Murray Holman, of Back to Basics Ministries, is one of those stakeholders who is working with young men to ensure they have proper training and certifications to work on the project. He doesn't think the DOT should have canceled.

"It hurts the community when we don't know and now the Department of Transportation is being locked in on the decision. We need to know how far we're going to go, whether the funds are going to come here or not, whether the funds are going to go somewhere else, that might play a major part here in Buffalo," Holman said.

The largest portion of the project includes covering about three-quarters of a mile of the expressway to create a tunnel with greenspace above. It is meant to reconnect historically disadvantaged communities on the East Side to the rest of the city.

The state awarded the first contract this month to replace the Best Street Bridge over the expressway but, again, no construction is currently allowed. The governor, earlier this month, noted $300 million in federal dollars is currently committed to the project but noted extended delays could jeopardize that funding.

Spectrum News 1 not received answers from the state on whether there is a specific date that funding sunsets.

“The New York State Department of Transportation has postponed the monthly Kensington Expressway stakeholder meetings as we await a change in the temporary restraining order issued by the Erie County Supreme Court, which suspends all construction activities. In the meantime, NYSDOT will continue to give informational presentations about the overall project at community events, as we have done dozens of times and as we recently did, by invitation, at the Buffalo Niagara Partnership," spokesperson Joseph Morrissey said in a statement.

Holman said his organization will likely host its own meeting soon and invite the DOT to update the public. He said he also wants answers about how the state will maintain the deteriorating infrastructure in the interim.

It does not appear there have been any public notices for the stakeholder meetings. The state did not answer questions about if and why the meetings would be exempt from open meetings laws.

They typically take place on the first or second Wednesday of the month. A source said the meetings are a working group of residents and organizations to offer feedback on proposals but no public members have been turned away from attending including those opposed.

New York state Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes and Buffalo Common Council Majority Leader Leah Halton-Pope, both of whom have the project in their districts and were among the invitees to the stakeholders' meeting, declined to comment.