Lawmakers Draft Restraining Order to Stop I-77 Toll Project

CORNELIUS, N.C.– Today lawmakers asked Governor McCrory to end the I-77 toll project and cancel the contract with the Spanish firm Cintra, who’s expected to start working on Monday.    

 

Senator Jeff Tarte was among the group speaking out after learning the toll lanes would not accommodate trucks or big vehicles and have a negative impact on nearby businesses in Cornelius.

 

“We are at ground zero of congestion at exit 30 and 28. Neither, you won’t be able to get on and off either of the tollway, the businesses that exist, the hotels, the restaurants, gas stations, people in toll lanes will be forced to drive by,” says Senator Tarte.

 

McCrory did not cancel the contract and sent the issue back to the Charlotte regional transportation planning organization to review, saying it would be inappropriate to get involved, since local leaders requested and approved it.

 

“The only bulldozing going on is, Cintra is bulldozing Governor McCrory,” says Kurt Naas with WidenI77.org.

 

Kurt Naas of WidenI77.org was among the first to sue over the issue and says McCrory’s response is disappointing.

 

“Once the toll lanes are built, there can be no additional widening of I-77 lanes for fifty years, so this is not just today, but a disaster for three generations,” says Naas.

 

State Transportation Secretary Nick Tennyson says it’s too late to stop now.

 

“It won’t be simply throwing a switch and going to a different project, there is a process, and right now we got a contract in place that will offer a 26-mile solution in three years, and those who want to stop it need to understand the rest of the region, all of us, are going to be asking ‘What’s next?'” says Tennyson. 

 

Right now Senator Tart and fellow lawmakers are working on issuing a temporary restraining order against the project.