Charlotte Black Political Caucus, residents sue to delay I-77 South toll project
The Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg, in partnership with several McCrorey Heights residents, filed a temporary restraining order Monday against the state to pause the Interstate 77 South toll lane project.
The caucus’s attorney, Morris McAdoo, said residents want to see a stop in the I-77 South project until the North Carolina Department of Transportation has looked at all alternatives to the plan and can ensure nearby neighborhoods aren’t heavily impacted.
“No one is saying the (toll) expansion is illegal,” McAdoo said at a news conference Monday. “They have to look at other alternatives. The law requires (NCDOT) to exhaust all alternatives, especially when it comes to affecting the rights of the people in the neighborhood.”
The toll lane project would add express lanes to the 11-mile stretch between the Brookshire Freeway exit and the South Carolina border. Residents along the I-77 corridor have said the project would impact their quality of life and encroach on their neighborhoods.
If the project moves forward as is, it would be the third time NCDOT infringed on historically Black neighborhoods, according to Sean Langley, president of the McCrorey Heights Neighborhood Association.
The goal of the restraining order is to have NCDOT show it thoroughly vetted options, as opposed to knowing what it had planned for the corridor and sticking with it, McAdoo said.
The caucus is the latest group to request a delay pause in the project. Langley said the Southern Environmental Law Center is working with residents to request a nine-month pause to the project.
“We have tried every appropriate and lawful avenue to be heard,” Langley said during Monday’s news conference. “We have spoken before elected officials. We have submitted public comments. We have engaged directly with NCDOT … And still we were met with silence followed by encroachment.”
Politicians and others weigh in on I-77S toll plans
Charlotte City Council is expected to vote Monday evening on whether it wants to demand a 60-day pause on the project.
Several community groups, including the West Boulevard Neighborhood Coalition, wrote a letter to Gov. Josh Stein demanding a delay.
And State Senators DeAndrea Salvador and Caleb Theodros, whose districts encompass the project, have also reached out to Stein to request a pause.
Can the I-77 project be delayed?
The caucus’s suit and the other requests come as the Charlotte region’s transportation board, which approved the funding mechanism for the project, was told by its attorney it could not rescind the resolution or pause the project.
The Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization oversees and approves urban transportation improvements in Iredell, Mecklenburg and Union counties.
The board agreed in 2014 to put the I-77 South project on a long-range planning document. In 2024, the board approved a public-private partnership funding mechanism for the project.
The board had until last August to revoke its approval of the funding plan, according to the 2024 resolution.
But it wasn’t until November that NCDOT released designs for the project, which at one point including removing homes from McCrorey Heights and encroaching on the grounds of Pinewood Cemetery, a historically Black cemetery.
The area has previously experienced eminent domain with the construction of Brookshire Freeway and Interstates 77, 85 and 277.
NCDOT said it would go with elevating toll lanes in the uptown portion of the project near McCrorey Heights. That plan would see the construction of express lanes either over the interstate or to the side of the interstate.
But the design reveal left many feeling like NCDOT wasn’t being transparent about the project’s effects.
Mecklenburg Commissioner and CRTPO member Leigh Altman requested that the board’s attorney determine whether the group could pause or cancel the funding agreement.
On Friday, the board’s on-call attorney with Shah-Khan Law said no to both requests. The board can’t cancel the resolution because it missed the agreed-upon August deadline. And it can’t call for a delay because it has no further say in the project, according to the attorney’s memorandum.
Black Political Caucus against I-77 South
McAdoo disagreed with the assessment from CRTPO’s attorney.
Decisions are made all the time, McAdoo said, but if there’s no binding contract, he asked why can’t the board reverse course.
The CRTPO board will likely discuss the attorney’s response and next step at its March 18 meeting.
With the caucus’ lawsuit seeking a restraining order, along with the other delay requests, it’s unclear whether NCDOT will pause the project.
On Monday, the agency said it would lengthen its community engagement period and will move issuing request for proposals until late June. On March 13, the agency will send preliminary information to a list of potential developers.
The agency added that the extension comes from listening to the community. That’s what the suit from the caucus and the community want.
“We’re not asking for special treatment, we’re asking for due process,” Langley said. “We’re asking for transparency. We’re asking for meaningful engagement. We’re asking for protection from further harm.
“Until those conditions are met, until there’s true transparency, lawful notice and a process that respects the people most impacted this project must be paused.”
