North Carolina Department of Transportation Secretary Daniel Johnson warned Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles that if local leaders withdraw support for the Interstate 77 toll lane project, the state would be required to remove it from a long-term transportation plan, potentially sending hundreds of millions of dollars elsewhere.
The Charlotte City Council unexpectedly voted 6-5 on May 11 to withdraw support for using a private contractor to build toll lanes on I-77. The vote surprised some transportation officials and prompted Johnson’s response.
In a letter sent to Lyles on May 15, Johnson said federal law would require the NCDOT to remove the I-77 project from the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program if local backing is pulled. The roughly $600 million set aside for the project would then be redirected to other transportation priorities.
Johnson wrote that local transportation leaders could pursue a different version of an I-77 project. However, he cautioned that the state would have to restart the yearslong planning and environmental review process. A reworked project could still be eligible for state funding, he said.
Meanwhile, Charlotte City Council member Ed Driggs, who supports the toll lanes, told WCNC that “conversations are ongoing” to persuade one council member to change their vote and reverse last week’s decision.
The Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization could take a formal vote in June or July on whether to withdraw its support for the project, following Charlotte’s lead. Mecklenburg County, Matthews and Cornelius have said they would vote to end the I-77 public-private partnership, which would represent a majority of the board.
