The contractor building toll lanes on Interstate 77 north of Charlotte will unveil initial toll rates and hear public comments at a meeting Thursday night in Huntersville.
The meeting is required under NCDOT's $650 million contract with I-77 Mobility Partners. The company was hired to build and operate the toll lanes on 26 miles of the busy interstate from Charlotte to the Lake Norman area. The lanes are scheduled to open by year's end and for the first six months, tolls won't change, said spokeswoman Jean Leier.
"We'll be revealing those rates," Leier said. "This way people can look for whatever section of I-77 Express that they're using and whatever time of day, they can refer to those rates and plan their trips accordingly."
After six months, tolls will vary according to the amount of traffic in the toll lanes. The meeting will include a presentation on how that works. In a nutshell, the more traffic in the lanes, the higher the toll will be in order to keep an average speed of 45 miles per hour. If traffic is very heavy at rush hour, there's no limit on the tolls.
The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m., with public comment at 7 p.m. Public comments also are being accepted online at I77express.com, where you can also find information about the meeting.
