Why Charlotte leaders view I-77 toll lanes as only option (Charlotte Business Journal)

A privately run toll lanes project advanced this week with approval from the Charlotte Regional Transportation Board. And while the decision to move forward makes no guarantee that the $3.7 billion project will be built, the mixed feelings among board members reflect a feeling of having no other option.

Months of negotiations will follow between members of the transportation group, known as CRTPO, and the state transportation department. Their task: Create a request for qualifications to attract private developers to bid to build the lanes. CRTPO retains authority to pull the plug up until the state transportation department begins publicly advertising for bids, expected to occur next summer.

Brett Canipe, state transportation division engineer for the Charlotte region, told CRTPO yesterday that the success of 77 North — how much use the lanes get — have sparked interest in the 77 South project.

Leigh Altman, Mecklenburg County’s CRTPO representative and a member of the board of county commissioners, said yesterday that the 300,000 monthly users of the 77 North toll lanes provide benefit to drivers in the traditional, free lanes by easing congestion. Others, including local nonprofit Sustain Charlotte, contend that toll lanes and road widening in general provide little relief because more cars inevitably gravitate to the new capacity and fill it.

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