A regional transportation planning organization Wednesday voted to advance a plan for the North Carolina Department of Transportation to partner with a private company to build express toll lanes on Interstate 77 in south Charlotte.
Under the proposal, a private company would build the toll lanes, which are expected to cost $3.7 billion.
That company, which hasn't been selected, would also set the toll rates and keep the profits.
Brett Canipe with the NCDOT said the state doesn’t have enough money to build new I-77 lanes on its own.
“The scope, scale and cost of the projects in our urban areas have really taken me by surprise,” he said.
The Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization backed the plan, mostly on the strength of the city of Charlotte’s weighted vote, which gives it a near majority.
In addition to Charlotte, Pineville and Mint Hill backed the plan, as did Mooresville and several municipalities in Union County.
But, there was significant opposition to the public-private partnership — mostly because of the controversial privately built and managed toll lanes on I-77 North that opened five years ago.
The majority of governments inside Mecklenburg County voted no. That includes Davidson, Cornelius, Huntersville, Matthews and Mecklenburg County.
Matthews Mayor John Higdon asked whether local officials have asked the legislature to lift a so-called “corridor cap” that limits the amount that can be dedicated to highway corridors at roughly $600 million over five years.
On Monday, the Charlotte City Council unanimously voted to back the public-private partnership.
A day later, Mecklenburg Commissioners voted 5-4 against the plan.
Commissioner Susan Rodriguez-McDowell said on Tuesday that the lanes aren’t fair.
“I believe that managed lanes add to the economic disparities that already exist in our community,” she said. “The wealthy can move through smoothly and everyone can remain in congested lanes. Does it help a little to pull out the folks who can afford the managed lanes? Sure. But is that enough? I don’t think so.”
Commissioner Leigh Altman, who voted in favor of the I-77 South public-private partnership, said it’s the only real option.
“So for those who say, I just want to come up with other solutions — respectfully it’s on you to come forward with what they are. Because what we are hearing from the experts is if we don’t do this, nothing occurs.”
The toll lane decision comes as the city and county are also trying to get approval for a new one-cent sales tax increase to pay for transit and roads. That tax would raise billions of dollars over the next 30 years.
In theory, some of that tax revenue could help build express lanes on I-77 South with the state repaying local leaders with toll revenue. The city of Charlotte hasn't proposed that, however. Sixty percent of the funds would be spent on transit, with the remainder on roads.
