NCDOT board rep warns Charlotte of consequences if I-77S toll plan is scrapped
Some Charlotte region transportation board members want a say on whether the contentious Interstate 77 South toll lane project should continue based on upcoming design changes.
But a state Transportation Board member warned that if the project was cancelled, the Charlotte region would lose out on the $600 million planned for the roadway. And possibly other funding for future infrastructure projects too.
The Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization, or CRTPO, met Wednesday and continued to discuss how proposed designs of the I-77 project would impact the surrounding neighborhoods and greenspaces along the 11-mile corridor. CRTPO looks at and approves urban transportation improvements for Iredell, Mecklenburg and Union counties.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation released two design proposals in November that alarmed residents, environmentalists and some elected officials. Those groups all called for pausing or cancelling the project.
The design process is ongoing, according to NCDOT and N.C. Board of Transportation At Large member Stephen Rosenburgh, who attended the meeting Wednesday.
He, along with CRTPO member and City Councilman Ed Driggs, said any thoughts about a longer pause or cancelling the project should wait until the design process is further along.
“I think we all need to just take a deep breath, wait until we get some designs so we can discuss what those designs look like,” Rosenburgh said. “We need to know what the community wants. We’re getting so many people with so many ideas. There’s no clarity. As a department, we’re willing to listen.”
NCDOT has delayed the project by three months, pushing back its Request for Proposals to June.
Perspective developers will present their design proposals sometime next year. When that comes, some CRTPO members want the option to vote on whether the project continues based on the designs.
It’s unclear whether CRTPO can legally cancel the project.
Driggs said he believes there’s no “legal brick wall” that could stop the transportation board from quashing the project. For months Mecklenburg Commissioner and board member Leigh Altman has said the same thing.
Rosenburgh said he wouldn’t comment on the legality of such a move but said there may be negative outcomes to that decision.
The state has already spent $50 million on the project, according to Rosenburgh. So if officials back out of the project, Rosenburgh said the NCDOT board will question other projects for the Charlotte area.
“It’s going to effect other work we’re doing here. Let’s be realistic here,” Rosenburgh said. “If the city doesn’t want this, I as a board member will say well what does the city want? Should we be involved in these other projects…
“If the city doesn’t want this project, Raleigh will take this $600 plus $100 million tomorrow. Greensboro will take it tomorrow. It’s not been allocated to another project. It is leaving the city and it won’t be coming back.”
A quick I-77 South toll lane project refresher
NCDOT wants to add toll lanes to an 11-mile stretch of I-77 between the Brookshire Freeway exit to the South Carolina border. The goal is to ease congestion and increase safety along the corridor.
But the proposed elevated design has caused a stir.
Residents in uptown neighborhoods, including Biddleville, McCrorey Heights, Oaklawn Park, Wesley Heights and Wilmore, have said both project designs would impact their quality of life and encroach on their neighborhoods.
Under both designs, 11 parks and several Charlotte greenways would be harmed, with some losing space and amenities, according to a county report. That includes the removal of Wilmore Park and substantial changes to Third Ward’s Frazier Park.
Homes north of the John Belk Freeway would be preserved, including residences in Biddleville, Genesis Park, McCrorey Heights and Wesley Heights, according to NCDOT. But it’s unclear whether homes further down the corridor, like in Wilmore, would be taken under eminent domain.
With the project delay, NCDOT launched an extended engagement initiative. Part of the initiative includes opening a community engagement center to hear more from residents, a transparency and communication issue that neighbors and elected officials said the agency needs to address.
That facility is opening Monday at 1023 W. Morehead St. Suite 125, next to the interstate near Bank of America Stadium.
What’s next for the I-77 South toll project?
The city and the county are working together on possible modifications to the project contract that would be acceptable to CRTPO and NCDOT, Driggs said on Wednesday. The city recently went over some options during a closed session, according to Driggs.
What those modifications would look like is unclear, especially whether the changes would affect the design.
While the project is delayed, some CRTPO members urged NCDOT to continue listening to residents and rebuild trust. But so far, the engagement and transparency process hasn’t gone well.
A planned tour by NCDOT of neighborhoods impacted by the project was cancelled due to safety concerns. NCDOT’s safety plan was based on a small invited group but before the tour on Monday, the agency received notice that its original plan was “no longer feasible.”
NCDOT did not make clear what the safety concerns were or whether the tour will be rescheduled.
Residents, including Shauna Bell who lives in McCrorey Heights, said some neighbors weren’t invited. And when they learned of the event and wanted to participate, NCDOT cancelled the tour.
“NCDOT continues to talk about how there’s a lack of trust,” Bell said, “but they continue to do things that make people not trust them.”
She added that Rosenburgh’s comment on Charlotte fraying its relationship with NCDOT and potentially losing funding was another indicator of mistrust.
It was a clear threat, Bell said.
