Key vote planned for tonight on adding toll lanes to I-77 south of uptown (Charlotte Ledger)
The Charlotte City Council is scheduled to take an important vote tonight on the future of toll lanes on I-77 between uptown and the South Carolina line.
For years, transportation planners have been eyeing widening that 11-mile stretch of I-77 by adding toll lanes. But it’s an expensive proposition: an estimated $3.7B to add two lanes in each direction. The high cost stems from the number of intersections and bridges that would need to be rebuilt.
In our driving experience, that section of I-77 seems to be congested just about all the time — even when you’d think it should be clear. The N.C. Department of Transportation says that stretch of interstate has a crash rate 2.5 times higher than the state average. The question confronting the council is whether to support building the toll lanes as a “public-private partnership,” like the lanes on I-77 north of uptown that are operated by I-77 Mobility Partners, which is owned by the Spanish company Cintra.
The other option would be to have the state build the toll lanes, like the ones on the 19-mile Monroe Expressway in Union County, or the ones under construction on I-485 in south Charlotte.
Sustain Charlotte, which advocates for transit, greenways and bike networks and often has the ear of some council members, says that widening roads “has been proven not to solve congestion long-term” and that it “generates significant harmful environmental impacts.” It also says toll roads have a “lack of equity.”