Sick of traffic along I-77? Here’s what Charlotte is planning to do about it.

A new study by transportation officials in the Charlotte region will aim to study ways to ease traffic along the Interstate 77 corridor, including through non-automobile ways to travel, such as rail and bus rapid transit.

The Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization is behind the study. The Charlotte City Council is set to vote Monday night on agreeing to a $2 million contract with Atkins North America, an engineering and project management firm, to study I-77 from Exit 54 in Statesville to Exit 77 in Rock Hill. The study will be funded by state and federal money.

“The idea of this study originated so decision-making could be done not in a vacuum,” said Candice Rorie, of CRTPO. The study is estimated to take two years.

As part of the study, transportation planners will focus on the feeder network of roads around I-77, such as U.S. 21 and South Boulevard. The study will also examine how to integrate transit, such as the long-delayed Red Line commuter rail, and buses using the toll lanes on I-77 to provide express service.

“We really want to focus on the parallel network and the connectivity there,” said Rorie.

Major changes are coming to I-77 in a few months.

Toll lanes on the highway, running from uptown Charlotte to Exit 36 in Mooresville, are scheduled to open at the end of the year, though Cintra, the Spanish firm building the road, doesn’t expect the full length and all access bridges to open on time. The 26-mile project has drawn ire for years, becoming a major political issue in northern Mecklenburg and Iredell counties.

The tolls are being built and operated by a Cintra subsidiary, the private owner will collect toll revenue for 50 years, and the project didn’t add any free lanes. Rates will also vary based on congestion, another point of contention. Driving the whole length of the new toll lanes will cost up to $6.55 when they open, and that will increase to a maximum of $9.40 after the first six months during peak times — making for a round trip cost of almost $19.

More tolls are planned for I-77 south, from uptown to the state border. Those would be operated by the N.C. Turnpike Authority, not a private company. Tolls are also planned on the southern portion of the I-485 loop, from I-77 to Independence Boulevard.

This story was originally published October 22, 2018 at 4:08 PM.