The Charlotte City Council on Monday night cleared the way for the controversial Interstate 77 toll lanes project to move forward, just days after speaking out forcefully against the expansion.
Council members reversed course after the North Carolina Department of Transportation agreed to delay by three months its plan to ask contractors for their proposals. The DOT had planned to issue the Request for Proposals this month but will now wait until late June.
The DOT said the three-month extension would reflect the “department’s commitment to listening to residents and elected officials.”
But in a news release, the state did not commit to considering significant alternatives for the highway, such as placing part of it underground near uptown or building one toll lane in each direction instead of two. The DOT said residents would have time for “continued engagement” and “refinement of design options.”
But the new toll lanes are now back on track, though with a short pause.
Many west Charlotte residents have adamantly opposed the highway, saying it will negatively impact their communities. They say the state and the DOT are repeating past mistakes, when I-77 and other highways were built through mostly Black communities decades ago.
The Black Political Caucus of Charlotte Mecklenburg on Monday morning announced it was seeking a temporary restraining order to pause the highway expansion.
The Charlotte City Council is the critical decider in whether the highway moves forward. The city controls more than 40% of the votes on the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization, whose approval was required for the $3.2 billion expansion to move forward.
Sustain Charlotte had pushed for the DOT to pause the highway and study “meaningful alternatives.” Executive Director Shannon Binns said it appeared council members had “flip-flopped” from a week ago, when many pushed for a delay and some questioned the entire project.
He said, “This additional time is intended for further community meetings on expanding this freeway with toll lanes — not for evaluating alternatives for adding toll lanes.”
At Monday’s meeting, council members said they would listen to residents. Council member Kimberly Owens said the city and state needed to do better “storytelling” about the expansion. Council member Ed Driggs said he and other leaders didn’t understand the sensitivity of the widened highway to minority communities.
The DOT has picked a design that would elevate the toll lanes through uptown. That would create a more narrow footprint, and the DOT said all homes north of the John Belk Freeway would be preserved. The state also said there could be “community benefits” for neighborhoods, such as a community center or basketball courts.
I-77 is one of the state’s most congested highways and is in gridlock for much of the day. The Charlotte Regional Business Alliance has pushed to keep the project moving forward.
