Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles on Monday praised the North Carolina Department of Transportation board member who, some say, threatened the city with losing state money for other highway projects if Charlotte rejects the Interstate 77 toll lane project.
At a meeting last week, N.C. DOT board member Stephen Rosenburgh urged Charlotte not to stop the I-77 toll lanes.
Speaking to the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization, he said Charlotte would not only lose $600 million set aside for that highway widening, but — as a board member — he would question whether the DOT should fund other highway projects in the area.
“If this transportation board decides not to go through with this, whether they can or can not, I’m an attorney, I’ll stay out of that discussion. It’s going to affect other work we’re doing here, too. Let’s be realistic here,” Rosenberg said.
“We’ve probably spent $50 million on this already. So if the city doesn’t want this, then I, as a board member, would say, ‘What does the city want? Should we be involved in these other projects?’ ”
The Southern Environmental Law Center and Sustain Charlotte said Rosenburgh’s comments were a threat meant to intimidate Charlotte City Council members. They said a 13-year-old state law requires transportation projects to be ranked on metrics like safety, cost and congestion relief. DOT board members are not allowed to interject themselves in what projects are funded.
Mayor Lyles attended the opening Monday of the DOT’s new community engagement center on the I-77 project on West Morehead Street.
She was asked about Rosenburgh’s comments by Erik Spanberg of the Charlotte Business Journal.
“Mayor, when you heard the comments last week from the CRTPO meeting from Stephen Rosenburgh — how did you take those in terms of risk?” Spanberg asked.
Lyles responded that she has “known Stephen for a very long time.”
She was asked again: “How did you perceive his comments?”
Lyles then praised Rosenburgh, a Charlotte real estate executive who was appointed to the DOT board by the legislature in 2020.
“I think he was working to build out some information that he felt everybody wanted to have,” Lyles said. “And I think Stephen does a great job and I believe that he really works hard. So why don’t you ask him about that and then we’ll go from there.”
Expansion momentum
It might seem unusual for Charlotte’s mayor to praise an official who suggested the city could lose state money for other projects if it rejects the toll lanes to protect historically Black neighborhoods near uptown.
But Lyles wants the I-77 expansion to move forward with a design that minimizes impacts to homeowners.
She does not want the City Council to take a potentially decisive vote to stop the project. And Rosenburgh’s comments were almost certainly heard by City Council members unsure of what to do.
When asked whether the City Council might stop the project if residents are unhappy with new designs in 2027, Lyles declined to say yes or no.
“I don’t believe that we’ll be in that situation,” Lyles said. “I am optimistic that whatever we’re going to do, it’s going to be something that will be built upon this commitment today. And so if we are committed to you today, we will be committed when those folks come in and have the opportunity to speak and make sure we are doing the right thing.”
N.C. DOT board chair Tony Lathrop also attended Monday’s opening. When asked about Rosenburgh’s comments, he said, “I’m going to let what he said be taken at face value. I’m not going to get into what was appropriate and what wasn’t.”
He said he would not support Charlotte losing state funds for other highways if it rejects I-77.
“I’m not sure that’s what (Rosenburgh) said. But I wouldn’t support that. I’m not going to characterize what he said one way or another. But the answer to your question to me is ‘No.’ ”
Many westside neighborhoods are concerned about the impacts of the I-77 project, which would add two toll lanes in each direction from uptown to the South Carolina line. The DOT has recommended an alternative design that would elevate the toll lanes through uptown, creating a narrower footprint that would impact fewer homes, parks and a cemetery.
Some residents also don’t want the elevated design either.
Faced with increased public pressure, the DOT said last month it would delay issuing a request for proposals from four potential contractors and extend a listening period with residents.
The new community engagement center is at 1023 West Morehead Street and will be open six days a week.
Residents can drop by or make an appointment to talk with DOT officials about how I-77 might impact their homes and neighborhoods.
