Charlotte agency urged to continue opposition to I-77 toll

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

The planned Interstate 77 tollway expansion would stretch from Brookshire Freeway to the South Carolina border.

As a Charlotte transportation planning agency considers the expansion of the southbound side of Interstate 77, opponents are encouraging people to speak out against the project. 

On Sept. 23, the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization will reconsider its opposition to the nearly $4 billion, 11-mile tollway expansion project. A provision passed by the General Assembly earlier this year gives North Carolina municipalities voting against the tollway expansion until October to reverse their vote.  

Otherwise, they will have to pay a portion of $69.6 million already put into the project. 

The Republican-sponsored state budget signed into law in July by Gov. Josh Stein requires municipalities that oppose North Carolina Department of Transportation projects to compensate the agency for initial costs. The bill became law after Charlotte City Council, which controls 41% of CRTPO’s vote, withdrew support for the project. 

Kennedy Williams, environmental justice program manager for the nonprofit CleanAIRE NC, said major interstate expansions can expose communities to harmful substances like fine particulate matter. 

“There's obviously going to be dust and things that are going to be released into the air that could potentially get into your lungs, and you can be exposed to it by living so close to it,” Williams said. “Noise is part of it. There’s obviously the environmental impacts of just constructing anything.”  

Proponents of the planned expansion argue the tollway expansion is more than just a road project and there are economic development benefits, making the project important for the Charlotte area. They said one benefit is how the tollway would intersect with other major transportation projects, such as the Silver Line light rail, though some local leaders push back on the assertion. 

Sean Langley, president of the McCrorey Heights Neighborhood Association, believes the project would not address the congestion issue his community is trying to resolve. 

“Obviously, adding any kind of highway construction adjacent to our neighborhood or the neighborhoods along this 11-mile stretch would also decrease property values as well,” Langley said. “The other big issue that we have is that we fundamentally do not believe toll lanes will actually solve traffic congestion.”  

The payback costs associated with opposing the expansion have led some municipalities to reverse their opposition to the project, but others remain defiant, despite facing millions in fees.

Herbert L. White of The Charlotte Post contributed to this report. 

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