I-77 toll lane signs will flash messages in the Lake Norman area, but don’t be fooled

Digital signs for the Interstate 77 toll lanes project are scheduled to flash messages beginning Monday in the Lake Norman area, but don’t let that fool you into thinking you can ride in the lanes just yet.

It’s only a test, according to I-77 Mobility Partners, the subsidiary of Spain-based Cintra, the general contractor on the project.

Signs will be tested on I-77 from I-485 near Huntersville to Mooresville in southern Iredell County.

“Motorists will see the digital message signs on the right-hand side of the road with rotating messages that read “EXPRESS LANES ARE CLOSED” and “TEST,” according to an I-77 Mobility Partners news release on Friday.

Signs above the toll lanes, which remain under construction, also will be tested, officials said.

“The toll signs will display numbers to conduct this testing,” according to the release. “Drivers may also see test-related vehicles in (the toll lanes) as this testing is occurring.”

Planned entrances to the toll lanes from I-77’s existing free lanes will remain “closed and blocked,” project officials said in the release.

The 26-mile project from Mooresville to uptown Charlotte was supposed to finish in late 2018, but work will continue until later this year, state highway officials said.

The northern part of the project, from Hambright Road in Huntersville to Exit 36 in Mooresville, is scheduled to open soon, according to Friday’s I-77 Mobility Partners release, although no month or day has been released.

When the northern section opens, “customers will receive a 25 percent promotional rate off tolls until the entire roadway opens,” officials said.

This story was originally published March 22, 2019 at 8:39 PM.