Final Interstate 77 toll lane stretch now open after 4 years of construction
After four years of construction that has brought traffic headaches and controversy, the final stretch of Interstate 77 toll lanes between Lake Norman and Charlotte opened Saturday, the project contractor announced.
Drivers will now be able to use all 26 miles of the toll or “express” lanes, I-77 Mobility Partners said in a news release three hours before the scheduled opening. The final stretch to open Saturday was between uptown Charlotte and I-485 near Huntersville, about 11 1/2 miles long.
The $647 million project started in November 2015 and stretches from N.C. 150 in Mooresville to the Brookshire Freeway/I-277 in Charlotte.
“Since I-77 Express opened on June 1 in the Lake Norman area, more than 2.7 million trips have been taken on the express lanes by over 515,000 different vehicles,” Javier Tamargo, CEO of I-77 Mobility Partners, said in a statement at 5 p.m. Saturday.
I-77 Mobility Partners is a subsidiary of Spain-based Cintra, the project’s general contractor. The contractor financed and built the lanes and will manage them in a public-private partnership with the N.C. Department of Transportation.
The toll lanes are beside I-77’s free general purpose lanes, the number of which remain the same, officials said.
Two toll lanes run in each direction between uptown Charlotte and Exit 28 in Cornelius. Between Cornelius and Exit 36 (N.C. 150), one express lane was added in each direction.
Drivers can take a virtual ride of the toll lanes at www.i77express.com.
The lanes were originally expected to open in late 2018. “Direct connect” bridges and other work added to the project explain why construction took months longer, state officials have said. The bridges allow access to and from the lanes without crossing traffic.
Toll lane work angered many drivers
The project drew intense criticism, particularly in the Lake Norman area.
The work angered drivers caught in frequent backups during the late-night and early-morning construction. The worst backups meant a two-hour drive from Charlotte to Mooresville – a commute that normally takes about 35 minutes.
A citizens’ group, Widen I-77, formed in 2012 to oppose the project.
In October 2016, I-77 Business Plan, an anti-toll lane Lake Norman business group with many Republican members, endorsed Democrat Roy Cooper for governor because of the project, The Observer reported at the time.
Business leaders and other residents have long been upset with terms of the state’s contract with Cintra, including that no general purpose lanes can be added for 50 years without stiff financial penalty.
“Our 50-year nightmare begins tomorrow,” Kurt Naas, a Cornelius commissioner and longtime project opponent, said when the Lake Norman stretch opened in June.
The I-77 traffic and construction mess turned Lake Norman from a “crown jewel of the state” to “a black hole for economic development,” opponent and Cornelius businessman John Hettwer told The Observer this year.
Commute speeds improved, contractor says
In Saturday’s announcement, Tamargo said the toll lanes “have already improved travel in the corridor in both the express lanes and general purpose lanes.”
In October, he said, average morning commute speeds increased by 15% and afternoon commute speeds by 17% over October 2018 pre-opening speeds.
Using a NC Quick Pass transponder “is the fastest, easiest way to pay for tolls in North Carolina and other states that accept SunPass, Peach Pass and E-ZPass transponders,” according to a previous I-77 Mobility Partners news release. NC Quick Pass is at www.ncquickpass.com.
For drivers without a transponder, cameras will save an image of your license plate. NC Quick Pass will mail a bill to the registered owner through its bill by mail program.
Multiple bridges and ramps built, too
As part of the project, Tamargo said in Saturday’s release, crews replaced, improved or built multiple structures, including:
▪ Adding exit and entrance ramps at I-277/Brookshire Freeway that lead to and from the toll lanes.
• Replacing the I-277 southbound ramp to I-77 South.
• Replacing the Oaklawn Avenue bridge and adding sidewalks, bike lanes and lighting.
• Replacing the LaSalle Street bridge and adding sidewalks, bike lanes and lighting, and extending the I-77 on-ramp to the I-85 interchange.
• Adding new “direct-connector” ramps to I-85.
• Replacing the Lakeview Road and Hambright Road bridges and adding sidewalks, bike lanes and lighting, as well as toll lane connector ramps. Drivers can access the Lakeview Road direct connector in about a week, project officials said.
• A new pedestrian tunnel under I-77 in Huntersville that in the future will connect to the Torrence Creek Greenway.
• New roundabouts at the Griffith Street Bridge for the town of Davidson.
• Installing over a million square feet of noise walls along the corridor.
• Rehabbing the general purpose lanes in the corridor.
This story was originally published November 16, 2019 at 6:17 PM.