A request for an injunction was filed earlier this week against the New York State Department of Transportation to put on hold the I-81 project.

At the end of September, a lawsuit was filed to challenge the approvals of the I-81 reconstruction project. The lawsuit claimed that the state did not abide by its own rules on environmental review and climate change laws.

"We claimed that this is a violation of the new Green Amendment. Basically, the state is going ahead with a project that is causing environmental damage, will expose people in the city. Especially in the challenge of the environmental, just neighborhood to air emissions and also will cause traffic to be routed around Syracuse, which is contrary to the Smart Growth law, which we also sued under," said Alan Knauf, Law Partner with Knauf Shaw LLP.

Knauf says the intentions behind the reconstruction project may have been good, but he says the process was not well thought out because there will be more environmental and socio-economic damage to the residents of Syracuse.

“This is really made a lot bigger by the Micron Project. We want people on the southside of Syracuse to be able to get to work and work up in Clay. How are they going to do that? They’re not going to have an interstate anymore," said Knauf.

Knauf says they have requested that state go back to the drawing board and rethink the project, due to the recent and incoming impact of the Micron Project annoucement earlier last month.

“Sen. Schumer and the governor have compared the development to the Erie Canal. We all know that the Erie Canal had a major impact on the way Upstate New York was developed. I think the Micron Project is great, everybody thinks it’s a great thing, but we’ve got to think this out. Does this really make sense? How are people and minorities in Syracuse going to get to work?” said Knauf.

A hearing will be held November 10 to determine if the injunction will be honored. On January 12 of next year, and oral argument will be presented on the merits of the lawsuit.

Spectrum News 1 reached out to the Attorney General’s Office and Mayor Walsh on this matter but have yet to hear back.