Lawmaker: NCDOT Will Impose $30,000/day Fine on Toll Lane Operator Cintra

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – $30,000 a day. That’s the fine Cintra faces for not finishing the I-77 toll lanes by Thursday’s deadline.

State Senator Natasha Marcus says NCDOT will not give the company another extension.

“Gonna hold their feet to the fire and say, no, you don’t get another extension,” Marcus explains.

She broke the news on Twitter, saying November 1st, NCDOT will begin enforcing the hefty penalty against the Spanish firm.

“People in my district are tired of it. It’s not only the typical construction hassles and backups and problems. But there have been safety concerns and we just can’t let this go on any longer,” Marcus says.

She says because all three sections of the project are incomplete, the penalty is $10,000 a day, per section.

NCDOT let the original January 7th deadline pass, citing “work added to the contract.”

The northern part of the toll lanes opened in June, while work continues closer to Charlotte.

“My reaction is, I’m surprised first,” says Huntersville Town Commissioner Mark Gibbons.

Long term, he and others would like to see the state take over the project, but that would take working out a deal with Cintra.

“Can it happen? Yes. Will it happen. We’re yet to see,” Gibbons says.