A controversial plan to add toll lanes to Interstate 77 south of uptown Charlotte now appears dead, after regional transportation leaders voted Wednesday night to withdraw support for the project.
The decision upends years of planning around one of the region’s biggest transportation proposals and raises questions about what comes next for one of Charlotte’s busiest and most congested highways.
Charlotte City Council member Renee Johnson led last week’s successful effort to withdraw Charlotte’s support for the toll lane project — a move that helped set the latest vote in motion.
She joined WFAE’s Nick de la Canal to discuss why support collapsed and what she hopes comes next.
Nick de la Canal: Let’s start with last night. When the regional board’s vote came down and it became clear the current toll lane project was effectively over, what was going through your mind?
Renee Johnson: Well, the people have spoken, and the people have won. So I was honored to have initiated the motion, but it took all of council. It took the CRTPO, and today’s an important day in our city.
De la Canal: This project has been moving forward since 2014 and then seemed to unravel in just a matter of months. From your perspective, why did political support collapse?
Johnson: I think we all know that something needs to be done on 77. And we know that it’s our goal to provide solutions.
But it wasn’t until after the plans were presented and the community really pushed back. There was going to be more displacement and significant impacts to parks and greenways, the environment, the environmental impacts, and there just wasn’t the community support for the plan.
De la Canal: State transportation leaders have warned that this decision could delay any future widening of I-77 for years and send hundreds of millions of dollars elsewhere.
What do you say to people who might be sitting in traffic right now, as we speak, and are worried this leaves them without a solution?
Johnson: Well, I hope we look at alternative solutions in the meantime, such as rerouting our GPS coordinates.
I mean, we know that 40% of the traffic is travel-through traffic. So it’s individuals just traveling through the city on their way to South Carolina or somewhere else.
What about routing those folks via GPS or Waze on 485? If I’m leaving the university area and I want to go to Ballantyne or the south side, 485 is the fastest route for me.
So if we could reduce some of that traffic just by rerouting individuals outside of the city or around — and it’s faster for them as well — I think that’s one alternative.
When this information was presented — I think it was 2007 — a lot has changed in our world since 2007.
So my comment to them would be: we know that solutions are needed and I hope to continue to work with NCDOT for other solutions.
The people have spoken. Toll lanes are not the ideal solution at this time. Look at 77 North. People aren’t happy about that. We just want options. We want to look at options.
De la Canal: Since you’re talking about solutions, I did want to ask a bit more specifically what you might want to see happen instead.
Are you envisioning more general-purpose lanes? A different toll lane concept? A tunnel? What do you think is a better solution?
Johnson: So, I’d like a process that includes real public engagement from the beginning and not a predetermined outcome.
We need to evaluate all options, including smarter traffic management, technology-driven solutions and strategies that reduce congestion without the unnecessary displacement of people.
So those are the solutions that I’d like to work toward.
De la Canal: Council member Renee Johnson represents District 4 on Charlotte City Council. Thanks so much for joining us.
Johnson: Thank you. This was truly a David versus Goliath moment, and the people proved that organized communities still matter.
