I-77 Toll Controversy: House Passes Bill to Stop Construction

RALEIGH, NC — Lawmakers are one step closer to halting construction on the controversial Interstate 77 toll lanes.

The house passed a bill Thursday 81-27 that would cancel the contract with I-77 Mobility Partners and Cintra. Now it’s on to the Senate.

Construction was supposed to be finished on the toll lanes by 2018. However, the bill would stop it by September 2016.

“That’s overwhelming,” said President of the Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce Bill Russell. “That sends a strong message to the Governor that this deal is a bad deal for commerce. It’s a bad deal for our communities.”

Russell was among other business leaders praising lawmakers Thursday.

“Who really is for it?” said business owner Sharon Simpson. “If you live up here, you really do not talk to anybody who says it’s going to be great.”

The $660 million project would add a toll lane from Mooresville to Charlotte.

The contract would keep the state from adding free lanes for 50 years without paying the developer.

“We have a traffic problem, but that’s not going to solve anything,” said Visit Lake Norman’s Ron MacGregor. “It’s going to make it worse.”

Bill author Rep. Charles Jeter of Huntersville predicts cancelling the deal will cost $62.5 million.

To see previous report, click here.

His bill also takes $25,000 out of the highway fund for any legal fees incurred.

NC DOT and toll lane supporters say paying to cancel the project will take money from other projects and leave congestion for decades while the state builds other lanes.

“At the end of the day, this didn’t relieve congestion,” said Russell. “That’s what we’re dealing with here in Cornelius, Davidson, Huntersville,

Mooresville is congestion. We’re sitting in traffic and not able to go anywhere.”

To view the bill and see how lawmakers voted, click here.