County votes to support I-77 toll lane study. What’s next for Cintra’s proposal?
Mecklenburg County commissioners on Wednesday voted to support further research about expanding toll lanes on Interstate 77.
Their vote passed 6-3 and informed the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization, a federally designated agency that makes plans for the metro area.
The CRTPO board could vote Nov. 16 whether the NC Department of Transportation should further analyze an unsolicited March proposal from Spain-based Cintra to build and manage toll lanes from Charlotte to South Carolina, CRTPO officials told The Charlotte Observer in October.
Cintra financed, built and manages the existing 26 miles of I-77 toll lanes from I-277/Brookshire Freeway to Mooresville. Construction work angered drivers caught in backups. A contract requirement about no new general purpose lanes for 50 years upset local leaders and residents. The company also was fined tens of thousands of dollars daily for missing an opening deadline.
NCDOT expects the new toll lanes to cost $2.1 billion.
Commissioners Vilma Leake, Pat Cotham and Elaine Powell voted against the proposal, expressing concern for voting during a policy meeting and not next week’s regular business meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Board Chairman George Dunlap assured them the vote wasn’t out of order, and that policy meetings are just intended for longer discussions.
“I think there are other things at play other than the fact that they don’t want to vote in this session,” Dunlap said.
At-large Commissioner Leigh Altman supported exploring options for it, saying no one likes sitting on the interstate for long periods of time, she said.
“We have to try to find solutions in a way that protect the public’s interest and are wise,” Altman said. “We’re continuing the due diligence of learning how we must do it.”
Background on I-77 toll lanes
Cintra’s new proposal to the state line wasn’t a formal offer, NCDOT Division 10 Engineer Brett Canipe said in October. And state law requires competitive bids to have a private partner finance and build the toll lanes. That means Cintra may not be the final choice.
The analysis of Cintra’s proposal would take a year and include a cost comparison of a public-private partnership model and a taxpayer-funded option. The analysis would cost $1 million and not specifically study Cintra’s unsolicited proposal, said David Roy, chief financial officer of the North Carolina Turnpike Authority.
If the CRTPO board decides against NCDOT further analyzing Cintra’s proposal, adding the I-77 toll lanes is still in NCDOT’s plans, officials said. But it could take longer.
The earliest the project would receive funding is 2029, Roy said. Add 10 to 15 years to buy right-of-way, move utilities and build more lanes, too, he said.
A public-private partnership “could potentially lessen or eliminate some of those funding constraints,” according to an NCDOT statement provided to the Observer in October. “But more analysis is needed.”
State highway officials told CRTPO they were simply laying out the choices for widening the highway, and a NCDOT spokeswoman said the state is not advocating for a particular path forward.
This story was originally published November 10, 2022 at 11:12 AM.
