Charlotte faces high price to end I-77 South toll lanes

HERBERT L. WHITE | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Charlotte’s withdrawal of support for a public-private partnership to add toll lanes to I-77 South from Center City to the South Carolina border could lead North Carolina to shift at least $600 million in state transportation funds to other projects, according to a May 15 letter from state Transportation Secretary Daniel Johnson to Mayor Vi Lyles. Another $100 million in bonus allocation would be at risk, too.

Charlotte’s decision to walk away from the I-77 South toll lane project could cost the city millions in state transportation funding.

North Carolina Transportation Secretary Daniel Johnson notified Mayor Vi Lyles in a May 15 letter that withdrawing support for the public-private initiative would prompt the state to remove Charlotte from the state’s long-term transportation plan, which could divert $600 million to other projects.

City Council voted 6-5 on May 11 to rescind support for private contractor to build toll lanes on I-77. As a result, Charlotte’s representative on the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization is required to oppose the plan.

“Under North Carolina’s Strategic Transportation Investments (STI) law and the current State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), the I-77 South Express Lanes Project remains programmed with $600 million in Statewide Mobility funding,” Johnson wrote. “The project will remain in the STIP unless and until CRTPO removes or materially changes the project in their Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program (MTIP).” 
Critics of NCDOT’s preferred plan insists alternatives that alleviate traffic congestion and connects neighborhoods should be explored. Public input on multiple plans should be part of the process, said Shannon Binns, founder of Sustain Charlotte. 

“No one disputes that the I-77 corridor needs major investment.,” he said in a statement. “No one disputes that congestion, safety, and reliability must be addressed. The question is whether widening the highway deeper into existing neighborhoods and parks — taking more land from communities already shaped by I-77 — while relying on privately operated toll lanes for decades, is the best use of limited public resources.”

Johnson cautioned Lyles that local officials could pursue an alternative version of the project, but the state would have to restart the planning and environmental review process, which takes years. 

An alternative project could still be eligible for state funding, he said, but complete withdrawal would cost Charlotte $600 million earmarked for I-77 in addition to “approximately $100 million in bonus allocation funding awarded for the use of tolls would no longer be made available.”

“In our listening sessions and work at the Community Engagement Center, we’ve also heard form community members about the importance of reconnecting communities along the corridor and other potential benefits the [public-private partnership] could bring,” Johnson wrote. “Without private investment through the P3, these opportunities are not available from a funding perspective. Additionally, transportation improvements along the corridor identified in partnership with Charlotte Department of Transportation would not be available.”

The council vote dealt a severe blow to the project’s viability as Charlotte’s proportional representation – 41% – on the regional planning board carries more weight. Mecklenburg County and the town of Matthews have previously voted against supporting the project. 

The I-77 design has drawn criticism over concerns of a lack of transparency by the state Department of Transportation, environmental impacts of elevated lanes and displacement in historically Black neighborhoods, using the Brooklyn community’s razing in the 1960s to make way for the I-277 loop as a prime example.

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