A state judge on Thursday denied a bid to resume construction on a $1 billion hydropower transmission line in western Maine, rejecting a preliminary injunction sought by utility companies.

The developer of the New England Clean Energy Connect contended that the project was properly permitted and that a referendum vote rejecting the project last month was unconstitutional.

The lawsuit filed by the utilities will continue, but the judge declined to intervene to let construction resume in the interim.

An appeal to the state supreme court is expected.

The developer of the project aimed at bringing up to 1,200 megawatts of Canadian hydropower to the New England power grid had suspended construction after a request to do so by the governor.

Maine’s environmental commissioner had also suspended a permit for the project, and the suspension remains intact with the judge’s ruling.

Critics said the project is damaging the woods and changing the character of a part of western Maine with little if any benefit for its residents.

Supporters of the project, which is funded by Massachusetts ratepayers, say big solutions are needed to remove carbon from the environment, address climate change and provide needed generation capacity after the decommissioning of several power plant in recent years.

Just this month, operators of the regional power grid warned of the potential for rolling blackouts if there’s an extended cold snap this winter.

The 145-mile transmission line would mostly follow existing utility corridors. But a new section needs to be cut through 53 miles of woods to reach the Canadian border.

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection previously gave the project its approval along with the Maine Land Use Planning Commission, Maine Public Utilities Commission and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

But that was before state voters delivered a rebuke to the project at the election booth in November. Also, a state judge has called into question a lease for a 1-mile stretch of the corridor over state land.