I-77 toll lane foes keeping up the fight. Town hall-style meeting set for Thursday.

A group opposed to the Interstate 77 toll lanes from Charlotte to Mooresville will hold a town hall-style meeting on Thursday to respond to a state consultant’s report about the project.

Widen I-77 has scheduled the meeting for 6:30 p.m. at the Charles Mack Citizen Center, 215 N. Main St. in Mooresville.

“The issues, problems, facts & options will be explained,” Widen I-77 member Connie Evans said on the group’s Facebook page. “The public, elected officials, candidates & the media are encouraged to attend.”

In a statement, Widen I-77 said the public has a limited time to give input on the report by Philadelphia-based Mercator Advisors. At Thursday’s meeting, the group will explain how residents can get involved “and make a difference.”

The meeting will consist of a 20-minute presentation followed by an extended question-and-answer session.

Mercator said this month that opposition to the lanes is so intense that it would be a “potential justification” for canceling the project entirely, the Observer reported.

The state Department of Transportation could cancel the contract with I-77 Mobility Partners “to be responsive to concerns that continue to be expressed by elected officials at the local, county and state level about the (public-private partnership) arrangement,” Mercator’s draft report said.

Mercator said finding the money to buy out the contract would be a “significant challenge.” The consultant said if the contractor and developer have fully drawn a federal loan when the contract is canceled, the buyout would exceed $289 million.

This story was originally published August 23, 2017 at 7:29 PM with the headline "I-77 toll lane foes keeping up the fight. Town hall-style meeting set for Thursday.."