Syracuse, N.Y. — Franklin Square residents have filed a lawsuit to stop the state from laying a pipe through their neighborhood as part of the I-81 reconstruction project, saying it would exacerbate flooding there.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court, says the state Department of Transportation hasn’t properly studied the impacts of the new stormwater line. The state plans to raise the Onondaga Creekwalk by as much as 10 feet to install the line, which would take rainwater runoff from the I-81 and I-690 reconstruction project and divert it into the creek.
In areas of the city where stormwater and sewer pipes are combined—as they are in Franklin Square—DOT must separate them to prevent sewage from flowing into Onondaga Creek and ultimately Onondaga Lake…