I-77 South toll road foes rally behind history of racial bias

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A toll road along Interstate 77 North in Huntersville is part of the first phase of toll roads planned for Mecklenburg Count. The second phase, which would stretch 11 miles from Center City to the South Carolina border, has drawn protests from community, environmental and mobility groups, who want the North Carolina Department of Transportation to scrap the toll lanes in favor of enhanced mass transit.

The Brooklyn neighborhood’s demise is a rallying point for opposition to proposed Interstate 77 South toll roads.

A Dec. 5 letter signed by a coalition of 24 mobility, environmental and community advocates urged state Transportation Secretary Daniel Johnson to scrap the plan, citing economic inequality and Charlotte’s legacy of transportation projects cutting through historic Black neighborhoods. The most prominent example is the Brooklyn neighborhood, which was leveled to make way for the I-277 loop in the 1960s. Thousands of families, businesses and schools were displaced in the process as part of a federal urban renewal campaign.

“The highway cut a swath through nearly every one of Charlotte’s historically Black communities along its length — starting in the Historic West End with Biddleville, Oaklawn Park, McCrorey Heights, Dalebrook, and parts of Wesley Heights and Seversville, then continuing south to Wilmore and into the West Boulevard and South Tryon corridors that served Black Charlotteans pushed out of other parts of the city,” the signatories wrote.

“77 South brushes or bisects Black and historically Black communities along the West Boulevard and South Tryon corridors — Reid Park/Arbor Glen, Revolution Park, Clanton Park/Irwin Creek, and the West Boulevard villages. These areas sit immediately west of I-77 or depend on greenways, parks, and streets that would be affected by widening or an elevated option.”

The signatories want the North Carolina Department of Transportation to scrap the plan and invest in mass transit and reconnection programs for affected neighborhoods. Mecklenburg County voters in November approved a 1% transit tax referendum that will raise the local sales tax from to 8.25% and generate a projected $19.4 billion over 30 years.

“The only effective way to move more people in this corridor is to invest in reliable, frequent transit — dedicated bus lanes on I-77, buses that come at least every 15 minutes on primary roads parallel to I-77, safe and accessible bus stops, and coordinated land use to shorten trips,” they wrote. “NCDOT’s current plan offers no public transit alternative, requiring local residents to fund improvements to transit and active transportation themselves – with no financial support from the state.”

NCDOT proposes widening 11 miles of I-77 South from I-277 in Center City and NC 16 to the South Carolina border to add a pair of toll express lanes in each direction. Opponents say the toll lanes, which would be operated by a private company, would create a two-tier situation for commuters in which drivers who can afford the fare will drive that option while congestion would worsen on the free lanes.

“This project would create premium, high-priced lanes for those who can afford them, while everyone else remains in the general-purpose lanes, which NCDOT’s own analysis shows will continue to be congested over time,” project opponents wrote. “That is the definition of a two-tier system. We have already seen on I-77 North that dynamic pricing can push tolls to levels that are out of reach for many working families. Building more lanes that only some people can use is not transportation equity.”

Toll lanes have been the source of contentious debate for more than a decade. The initial I-77 North project, completed in 2019, sparked outrage in northern Mecklenburg that combined with the so-called “Bathroom Bill” HB2, led to incumbent Gov. Pat McCrorey losing his 2016 re-election bid. 

In addition to the toll lanes, DOT proposes 13 interchanges and several retaining walls as part of the 11-mile project, which includes, in some segments, elevated roadways. It would slice into Frazier Park in Third Ward and halt a planned extension of Irwin Creek Greenway through McCrorey Heights that would bar neighborhood access to the Irwin Creek corridor – originally prohibited by I-77.

“The construction of I-77 through Charlotte’s Black neighborhoods stands as one of the most harmful examples of environmental injustice in the city’s and state’s history — and rather than working to repair that injustice, this project would deepen it even further,” the advocates wrote.

Pollution is also a concern. With more lanes, a phenomenon called “induced demand” ensues in which more commuters drive the less congested road until congestion returns.

“So, while NCDOT’s I-77 South project may promise smoother travel in the first years after completion, the long-term result will almost certainly be more cars, more congestion, and higher costs — not lasting relief,” the coalition signers wrote. “Those who can afford the tolled express lanes will continue to move freely, while everyone else will be stuck in even heavier traffic on the ‘free’ lanes.

“Charlotte deserves better than another billion-dollar experiment that’s already failed here and in cities across the country.”

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