State appeals court dismisses legal challenge to I-81 project

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A New York state appeals court dismissed Renew 81 for All’s legal challenge to the Interstate 81 project Friday.

With the decision, the New York State Department of Transportation will no longer have to conduct additional environmental studies before the viaduct’s removal. The now-overturned Feb. 2023 ruling argued the DOT must conduct more studies due to the impact of Micron’s upcoming plant in Clay. The unanimous decision in the state’s Supreme Court’s Appellate Division for the Fourth Department was first reported by syracuse.com Friday afternoon.

Onondaga County Legislator Charles Garland, a member of Renew 81 for All, along with Central New York Area Labor Federation President Ann Marie Taliercio, Deacon Nathan Gunn and the towns of Salina, DeWitt and Tully, told syracuse.com he was “certain” the group would appeal Friday’s decision.

Gov. Kathy Hochul called the decision “favorable” in a press release and wrote it will allow the community grid plan, which includes the removal of the viaduct, to move forward as scheduled.

“After a court ruling from the Appellate Division, we can now definitively say that the I-81 Viaduct – which has literally divided the City of Syracuse for decades – is coming down,” Hochul wrote. “There’s more work to do to reunite and reconnect communities in Syracuse and today’s decision is a landmark step in the right direction.”

Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh previously told The Daily Orange the project’s delay was “unnecessary.”