New York State Judge Pauses $1B Buffalo Expressway Cap Project

Lawsuit filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union challenges project's environmental assessment

The project would cover a section of the Kensington Expressway and add public green space more in line with the Humboldt Parkway that the highway replaced decades ago.

Rendering courtesy of New York State Dept. of Transportation

A New York state judge granted a temporary restraining order on Oct. 9 to pause work on a $1-billion project to cap a portion of the Kensington Expressway in Buffalo, N.Y.

The action In New York Supreme Court by Justice Emilio Colaiacovo comes in a lawsuit filed in June by the New York Civil Liberties Union against the New York State Dept. of Transportation over its capping plan for a section of the highway to reconnect communities and add green space.

The suit called the project's environmental assessment “limited and flawed.”

Lanessa Owens-Chaplin, director of the group's Racial Justice Center, called the decision "a major win" for the predominately Black community living near the project site.

"It sends a loud and clear message that this community should not be treated as an afterthought by the [the state agency] and the Federal Highway Administration," she said in a statement. “Pausing the construction now is the best way to ensure that the needs and concerns of impacted residents are included while litigation continues. Make no mistake: this project will only meet the moment if air quality protections and mitigation measures for impacted residents are provided without delay.”

In a statement, the state DOT said the project’s environmental process adhered to all applicable state and federal laws.

"We continue to look forward to advancing this project to reconnect a community that was divided generations ago," the statement says.

In a statement to media, the office of Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said: “As Governor Hochul has said before, this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to correct one of the most damaging planning injustices of the 20th century, and we look forward to reconnecting this community soon.”