Judge: I-77 toll lane project is constitutional

A judge said Friday that the Interstate 77 toll lane project in Lake Norman is constitutional, a victory for the N.C. Department of Transportation and the private developer that recently started construction on the controversial project.

Widen I-77, a group opposing the toll lanes, had pushed unsuccessfully to postpone Friday’s hearing. The group wanted to wait for a Charlotte City Council vote scheduled for Monday on the issue, as well as a vote by a regional planning group later this month.

In arguments Friday morning, Widen I-77 attorney Matthew Arnold said that the state couldn’t legally hand over the power of tolling the express lanes to a private developer. The group said the developer, I-77 Mobility Partners, could theoretically make a toll $1,000.

Attorneys for the DOT and I-77 Mobility Partners said it would never make sense for the developer to set rates so high, in part because the state has the ability to cancel the contract.

Mitchell Karlan, an attorney for I-77 Mobility Partners, used a hypothetical situation in which the government might partner with the Carolina Panthers to build a new football stadium.

Even though the stadium would have been funded with public money, Karlan asked whether the government would control all aspects of the stadium’s operation.

“Would the General Assembly set the price of Cokes at the new stadium?” he asked.

After more than two hours of arguments, Judge W. Osmond Smith said the I-77 contract and the state’s agreement with the private developer “are not unconstitutional.”

Karlan said I-77 Mobility Partners was “pleased and gratified” by Smith’s ruling.

After the ruling, Kurt Naas, a spokesperson for Widen I-77, said he was disappointed. But he said his group would focus on Monday’s vote, in which Charlotte city council members will vote up or down on the I-77 toll lanes.

Gov. Pat McCrory has asked the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization to vote Jan. 20 on whether it supports the current transportation plan, which includes toll lanes for I-77.

The city of Charlotte has 46 percent of the vote on CRTPO.

City Council will vote Monday on how to direct its CRTPO member, Vi Lyles, on how to vote.

If council members direct Lyles to support the toll lanes, it would almost certainly pass. If they direct her to reject the lanes, they would likely fail.

Construction has started on the toll lanes, from uptown to Mooresville. Motorists can pay to use the lanes or stay in the existing general purpose lanes, which will remain free.

Mecklenburg commissioners voted 8-1 Tuesday to direct its voting member on CRTPO to vote against toll lanes.

This story was originally published January 8, 2016 at 10:44 AM with the headline "Judge: I-77 toll lane project is constitutional."