What’s happening with I-77 toll lanes through Charlotte to SC? Latest from NCDOT
“Stiff competition” is expected among potential bidders to extend Interstate 77 toll lanes through Charlotte, a state highway official said this week.
At $3.2 billion, the project would be the most expensive in state history, NCDOT division engineer Brett Canipe told the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization Wednesday night.
The group coordinates plans for state and federal road projects in Mecklenburg, Union and Iredell counties.
The 11-mile project calls for two toll, or “express,” lanes in each direction from Brookshire Freeway (Interstate 277/N.C. 16) to South Carolina. Nearly every exit, if not all, would be revamped to improve safety, Canipe said.
The stretch has a crash rate at least 2 1/2 times higher than similar U.S. urban corridors, primarily because of congestion, Canipe said. “And Mecklenburg County leads the state in crash rate,” he said.
Officials identified $600 million in state funding for the project, nowhere near what’s needed, Canipe said. That’s why the state will partner with a private builder to fill the gap, he said.
‘We’re really at the starting line’
In October, the Charlotte City Council voted unanimously to back the toll lanes through a public-private partnership.
Although the state has planned for the lanes for two decades, “we’re really at the starting line to be able to move forward and implement the project,” Canipe said.
The state intends to advertise a request for qualifications from contractors in early August, Canipe said. That’s so the state can review contractors’ experience before inviting them to bid on the project.
He expects a contractor will be chosen by late 2027. “We’ve invested all this time and energy, but with such a sizable project, it’s going to take a while for us to move forward to identify a successful bidder in 2027.
“We expect to have a bit of competition to sift through,” Canipe said. “And new ideas (from bidders)“ about the project.
NCDOT also will hold a public meeting about the project later this year, he said.