Some members of the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization on Wednesday said they want the ability to stop the controversial toll lane project on Interstate 77.
But with the city of Charlotte wanting the project to move forward, their concerns are not being considered, for now.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation plans to issue a Request for Proposal from four contractors in June. That's after a three-month delay, so they can listen to residents' about their concerns over the plan to add four new toll lanes to the highway from uptown to the South Carolina line. The proposed lanes would require some homes, parks and neighborhood amenities to be demolished.
The state had planned to issue the RFP in March, but pushed that back to get more public feedback.
Cornelius Commissioner and CRTPO member Michael Osborne said he wants to scrutinize the designs that all four contractors are expected to submit in 2027.
“And then do a ‘go, no-go’ decision there,” he said. “Based on design, based on impact, based on traffic modeling. We heard it stated today that it would improve traffic. I’d like to see that model.”
Mecklenburg Commissioner and CRTPO member Leigh Altman also wants the ability to stop the project if the designs impact residents too much. She has previously said the DOT engaged in a “bait and switch” by not releasing preliminary designs earlier. She said Wednesday she had lost trust in the process.
Charlotte supports toll lanes
But the key decision-maker on the planning organization is the city of Charlotte, which has 31 of 68 votes.
The city’s CRTPO representative is City Council member Ed Driggs.
He said he hoped the organization could come to a consensus to keep the project moving forward, and he said that CRTPO would still be able to stop the project if it didn’t like the designs.
Driggs had previously said CRTPO couldn’t back out of the project after an August 2025 deadline had passed, but has since revised his statement.
The City Council has said it’s OK with the RFP going out early this summer, so long as the DOT listens to residents. It was scheduled to hold a meeting about I-77 on Wednesday, but then abruptly cancelled that meeting.
NC DOT board member Stephen Rosenburgh attended Wednesday’s CRTPO meeting. He said that if Charlotte led the CRTPO board to stop the I-77 project, it would have dire consequences for the region.
“If the city doesn’t want this, then what does the city want?” Rosenberg said. “(The DOT board) will ask: 'Should we be involved in these other projects?' If the city doesn’t want this project, Raleigh will take this money tomorrow.”
But Rosenburgh’s statement did not mention that state transportation funding is not supposed to be distributed by the whims of DOT board members. By state law, it’s distributed by a formula meant to prioritize factors such as congestion relief and safety. The formula was designed by former Gov. Pat McCrory to take political decisions out of how highway money is spent.
