Ahead of March 13 RFP, Sustain Charlotte Urges City Council to Seek Pause of I-77 Toll Lane Project Before the State Commits Taxpayers to Pay Proposers $12.5M Each
Charlotte — With NCDOT planning to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) on March 13 for the $4.3 billion I-77 South Express Lanes project, Sustain Charlotte and a broad coalition of neighborhood associations and nonprofit organizations are urging City Council to take formal action at next week’s annual retreat to request a pause of the procurement process and direct Charlotte’s representative at the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization (CRTPO) to seek board approval for that pause.
While the City of Charlotte does not have unilateral authority to stop the state’s project, Council does have the ability to formally request a pause and to direct its voting representative at CRTPO.
Under the state’s public-private partnership process, NCDOT has stated that shortlisted proposers may receive payments of up to $12.5 million each for submitting proposals, including firms that are not ultimately selected. Coalition members believe taxpayers should not be committed to those payments until alternatives are independently evaluated and publicly reviewed.
Once an RFP is issued and proposals are developed, the procurement process becomes significantly more difficult to alter without financial and legal consequences.
Sustain Charlotte and its coalition partners are asking Council to adopt a resolution that would:
- Direct Charlotte’s CRTPO Representative to Seek Board Action
Instruct Council Member Ed Driggs, Charlotte’s representative at CRTPO, to:
- Request that the CRTPO Chair call a special meeting before March 13, 2026;
- Place on the agenda of such special meeting a motion to reconsider and withdraw CRTPO’s prior approval of the I-77 South Express Lanes project for tolling within the meaning of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 136-89.183(a)(2), for the purpose of reassessing the project and evaluating reasonable alternatives before any contract is let; and
- Vote in favor of pausing the project for at least nine months to allow for completion of an independent alternatives analysis.
- Formally Request That NCDOT Pause the Procurement
Adopt a formal resolution requesting that NCDOT pause the P3 procurement process for no less than nine months, and longer if necessary, while alternatives are independently evaluated.
- Authorize an Independent Alternatives Analysis
Direct the City Manager to engage an independent consultant — separate from NCDOT and free of conflicts of interest — to conduct a comprehensive alternatives analysis.
To ensure public confidence in the findings, the consultant should have no current contractual involvement in the I-77 South project and no financial interest that could compromise the objectivity of the review. The consultant may need to be selected from outside the immediate region to ensure independence.
The analysis should evaluate options such as:
- Transit-first and multimodal strategies
- Safety and operational improvements
- Demand management approaches
- Lower-cost alternatives
- Utilizing I-485 as a bypass for truck and through traffic
- Converting existing lanes to high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes
- Utilizing existing shoulders as bus-only lanes where feasible
The review should assess not only cost and projected travel time savings, but also:
- Community displacement and property impacts
- Public health and environmental justice considerations
- Induced demand and long-term congestion outcomes
- Climate and vehicle miles traveled impacts
- Fiscal risk and long-term P3 obligations
- Effects on transit viability
- Distributional equity across income, race, and geography
Findings should be transparent and publicly accessible.
- Require Public Reporting and Engagement
Require a public scope, timeline, and budget within 30 days and mandate robust public engagement throughout the review process.
Why Action Is Needed Now
The I-77 South project is estimated to exceed $4 billion, making it one of the largest transportation investments in state history.
NCDOT plans to issue an RFP on March 13. Under that process, shortlisted proposers may receive payments of up to $12.5 million each for preparing proposals — including firms that are not selected. That represents a significant potential commitment of public funds before an independent alternatives analysis has been completed.
Several material factors warrant reassessment:
- Parcel-level impact maps were released after procurement steps had begun.
- CRTPO adopted the Beyond 77 Corridor Study, which includes more than 200 recommendations for addressing congestion in the corridor — none of which call for adding toll lanes, and most of which remain unimplemented.
- The City’s Strategic Mobility Plan aims to reduce single-occupancy commuter trips to 50 percent by 2040.
- The Charlotte 2040 Comprehensive Plan calls for compact, walkable growth and expanded multimodal transportation options.
- Transportation is the largest source of climate pollution in Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, and North Carolina. All three governments have adopted aggressive emissions-reduction goals.
- The City is advancing the Reconnecting the West End initiative to address historic harms caused by the construction of I-77 in the 1960s.
Some have suggested that delaying the project could jeopardize approximately $600 million in state funds currently programmed for I-77 South.
However, under North Carolina’s Strategic Transportation Investments (STI) process, if a project does not move forward, those funds return to the statewide program and remain available for allocation in future funding cycles. Charlotte would continue to compete for state transportation funding for projects that align with adopted plans and community priorities.
Coalition members believe it is more responsible to fully evaluate alternatives before committing billions of dollars to a project that may not align with the region’s long-term mobility, equity, and climate goals.
Importantly, this request reflects the position of a broad coalition of neighborhood associations, community leaders, and nonprofit organizations across Charlotte.
More than 20 community-based organizations — representing residents along the I-77 corridor and throughout the city — support a pause to allow for independent analysis, transparency, and meaningful public engagement before any further procurement steps.
Statements
“Council may not be able to unilaterally stop this project, but it can and should use every available tool to protect Charlotte’s long-term interests,” said Shannon Binns, Founder of Sustain Charlotte. “Before taxpayer dollars are committed and contracts are advanced, alternatives should be independently evaluated and publicly reviewed.”
“A $4.3 billion project deserves independent scrutiny before we move forward,” said Sean Langley, President of the McCrorey Heights Neighborhood Association. “Taking time to evaluate practical, equitable alternatives will help ensure decisions are grounded in objective analysis and aligned with the future Charlotte says it wants to build.”
City Council will consider the matter during its annual retreat beginning Monday.
For more information, contact:
Shannon Binns
Founder, Sustain Charlotte
(704) 338-2610
Sean Langley
President, McCrorey Heights Neighborhood Association
(704) 281-0341