Future of 77 toll lanes project uncertain after surprise vote in Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Charlotte city council has changed course on a controversial NCDOT project. City Council has voted to rescind support for the 77 South toll lanes project.

Developers spent Tuesday evening at a listening session getting community feedback about the project. In small groups, community members offered thoughts on quality of life, economic considerations and the best ways to reconnect the corridor.

The future of the $3.2 billion dollar project remains uncertain after Charlotte City Council voted to rescind its support in a meeting Monday night.

Now the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization will vote on the path forward. Leigh Altman represents Mecklenburg County and says she agrees with city council’s choice. She says when CRTPO voted to approve funding for the project back in 2024, NCDOT did not show maps or blueprints.

“I really don’t think I heard any positive support for this project as it’s currently conceived. Removed from residents. I did from a few business interests, but I didn’t from residents at all,” Commissioner Altman said.

Not everyone agrees, Indian Trail Mayor David Cohn fears stopping the project could end the funding.

“You know that was billions of dollars, and you know you may never get that money back again, and that’s such a big project, it would worry me,” Mayor Cohn said. “Of course, there’s valid concerns, but do the concerns outweigh the fact that you’ve got a terrible traffic problem over there that’s only going to get worse, and doing nothing about it is probably not going to fix the problem.”

The toll lane project was NCDOT’s solution to addressing congestion on an 11 mile stretch between South Carolina and Charlotte.

“I hope they find money somewhere else, and I hope they can do something to alleviate the problem. I do believe that people will stay away from that area if it gets worse,” Mayor Cohn said.

In a statement NCDOT said, “We’re aware of the vote that happened at the City Council meeting. The local planning organization requested NCDOT deliver this project, and reaffirmed support several times since 2014.

Under the law, the project is still in the STIP, which means it will not be removed until CRTPO removes the project from their plan. It’s important to remember that this is a regional project, and other municipalities in addition to Charlotte will need to weigh in. NCDOT stands ready to deliver a project for this growing part of the state that helps ease congestion and gridlock and includes community feedback.

NCDOT has responded to feedback from the community, including hosting community listening sessions with the project developers in Charlotte this week, establishing a community advisory group, and hosting a summit around reconnection opportunities next week. Our community engagement center remains open and we continue to welcome feedback and questions. No matter how this situation moves forward, NCDOT is committed to working alongside the community to determine the best path.”

Commissioner Altman says she would like to see NCDOT work with community partners to think outside of the box.

“We really do need some independent third party expertise to come in and really talk about other solutions that may be available to us that could do less impact to the environment, have less impact in neighborhoods, that might be more forward thinking in terms of transit and transportation,” Commissioner Altman said.

Since Charlotte has 41% of the vote in the CRTPO, they would only need a few more votes to be able to rescind the project. So far, Charlotte, Mecklenburg County and Matthews have committed to voting to rescind the project. CRPTO meets May 20th.