Will Charlotte City Council rescind its support for I-77 toll lanes?

You’re reading Charlotte in Motion, a biweekly newsletter that examines how the Charlotte region is dealing with bumper-to-bumper traffic, rising housing costs, crowded schools and other challenges that come with the ultimate Charlotte story of growth. Charlotte in Motion is produced in partnership between The Charlotte Ledger and WFAE.

by Steve HarrisonWFAE

West Charlotte neighborhood leaders and Sustain Charlotte are launching an all-out effort to convince the Charlotte City Council to support delaying or stopping the controversial $3.2 billion Interstate 77 toll lane project.

Their efforts come as the N.C. Department of Transportation last week said it was going to build elevated toll lanes through uptown — a design that impacts fewer homes and creates a smaller footprint than building the lanes at ground level.

But many residents still hate the project. They say putting the express lanes on top of the existing highway will be ugly and cause noise pollution — and that the project echoes highway building pushes that smashed through neighborhoods.

Some interrupted and protested at Charlotte City Council member Malcolm Graham’s town hall last week, where he was supposed to discuss the project.

On one side of the debate are residents — many of whom are Black — who say the state and the city will be repeating past mistakes, such as the demolition of Brooklyn Village, a Black neighborhood near uptown.

On the other side: I-77 is one of the state’s most congested highways. It’s in gridlock for much of the day, with heavy traffic extending far past morning and afternoon rush hour. The 11-mile project will run from center city to the South Carolina line and will connect with a larger express toll lane network in north Mecklenburg and on I-485 in south Charlotte.

In an email to supporters, Sustain Charlotte executive director Shannon Binns said the project would create a “towering concrete wall in the heart of the city and a wider concrete moat through the neighborhood beyond.”

McCrorey Heights neighborhood president Sean Langley has been opposed to the project since the designs were unveiled in November. He wrote in an e-mail to the DOT that “an elevated highway cannot repair what highways broke. It will not reconnect neighborhoods, restore walkability, or heal decades of displacement and division.”

Langley said he would like the state to consider building a tunnel to place part of the highway through uptown underground, as other cities like Boston and Seattle have done.

The state has said that’s too expensive, though one option would be for the city of Charlotte to pay for a cheaper underground “cap-and-stitch” construction method with money from the recently passed transportation sales tax.

The key player — for now — is the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization, whose approval is required by federal law to build long-term transportation plans and projects like I-77.

In the fall of 2024, CRTPO voted in support of using a public-private-partnership (also known as a P3) for the toll lanes. The exact resolution stated that the CRTPO “can rescind support at any point up until the Department publicly advertises a Request for Qualifications (RFQ).”

Several municipalities voted against the P3 proposal, including Mecklenburg County, Cornelius, Davidson, Huntersville and Matthews. Many cited problems with the I-77 north toll lanes, which were built and now managed by a private developer who collects all of the toll revenue.

But because the city of Charlotte has 31 of 68 votes on CRTPO, the resolution to approve the expansion plans passed.

The N.C. DOT last fall issued that RFQ, which asks contractors to submit their resumes. After that, the DOT will invite a handful of firms to submit bids for the actual proposal, or RFP. That has not happened yet.

After it issued the RFQ, the DOT in late 2025 released drawings of the two proposed designs for the highway through uptown. One was for all of the toll lanes to be built at the same elevation as the existing lanes. The other was to place some of the toll lanes on top of the existing lanes through uptown.

Both caused an outcry among westside residents.

In January, Charlotte City Council and CRTPO member Ed Driggs told people opposed to the project that it was too late for CRTPO to change course.

Driggs said the DOT told the planning organization back in 2024: “We need you to give us the go-ahead and then be done (with the project).”

Driggs added: “It was pretty clear that we took that vote and we took ourselves out of the conversation.”

He said that if people are upset about the highway design, they should contact the N.C. DOT and the legislature.

The staff for CRTPO work for the city of Charlotte. A spokesperson for the organization said that “because the deadline to rescind support expired on August 15 and the CRTPO did not take action, the authority for project development and public engagement now rests solely with NCDOT, consistent with state law. … CRTPO does not have the authority to re-engage, modify project requirements, or rescind its prior authorization.”

Charlotte in Motion asked CRTPO staff Wednesday afternoon to cite what state law prohibits the organization from changing course after designs are unveiled. CRTPO spokesperson Merritt McCully declined to do so and responded: “I suggest you reach out to the Attorney General’s office for questions about specific N.C. general statutes.”

But others say that Driggs’ and CRTPO’s stance is incorrect.

Matthews Mayor John Higdon said his town was upset in 2024 by the DOT’s plans to widen John Street to four lanes from I-485 to Trade Street. The project had previously been approved by CRTPO, but Matthews said it didn’t want the project after it saw the design.

“It was going to be like Independence Boulevard going through our town,” Higdon said. “They said, ‘Take it or leave it,’ and we said, ‘Leave it.’ ”

CRTPO voted to remove the project. It’s dead, for now.

Megan Kimball with the Southern Environmental Law Center said there’s no reason the Matthews example can’t be applied to the I-77 project. She said there is nothing in state or federal law that prohibits a planning organization from rescinding its approval after people see the final designs.

State law requires that toll projects be approved by the local Metropolitan Planning Organization (in this case CRTPO) “prior to the letting of the contract.” It does not state that this approval must occur before an RFQ is issued.

“What we’re seeing here isn’t a legal barrier, it’s a political barrier,” Kimball said.

The SELC has been working with Sustain Charlotte to fight the project.

Stallings town council member Brad Richardson is the chair of the CRTPO board. He voted in favor of using a P3 delivery method for I-77 in 2024.

In an interview, he said he’s not in favor of CRTPO taking a second vote on I-77. But he said that the earlier deadline for the board to change its mind before the RFQ was released may not be legally binding. He also said the CRTPO board could take a second vote rescinding its support for the project

Even if CRTPO board members did vote, would the DOT be required to follow their instruction?

“I don’t know the answer to that,” he said.

Charlotte has been to this dance before.

Last decade, the city cast the deciding vote in favor of building the I-77 toll lanes in north Mecklenburg. At the time, the opposition came mostly from the Lake Norman towns. They were mostly white. Many were Republicans.

This time, the opposition is much different — and more closely aligned with the City Council’s own demographics.

They are city residents. Most are Black. Many are Democrats.

City Council member Joi Mayo represents west and southwest Charlotte, including the Wilmore neighborhood that would lose homes to the expansion.

She’s in favor of the City Council voting to direct CRTPO to at least pause the project.

“We do need to delay the project,” she said. “It’s imperative we have a greater understanding of the project. I asked, ‘What about Wilmore?’ How will they minimize the impact to that historic neighborhood? They said they are working on that. I don’t think that’s good enough.”

This week, The Ledger/WFAE polled City Council members and Mayor Vi Lyles, asking if they supported delaying the project. Five of the 12 did not reply to our question, and four others were noncommittal. Mayo and JD Mazuera Arias, who represents Charlotte’s eastside, said they support a delay. At-large member Victoria Watlington didn’t directly answer but said, “I stand with the neighborhoods.” (You can read their replies below.) [Edited 2/12/26 to include Watlington reply after this article was initially published.]

It’s possible the fight could expand beyond Charlotte.

The head of the Department of Transportation is ultimately Democratic Gov. Josh Stein. Would he back economic progress and reduced congestion or the wishes of Charlotte’s westside?

Steve Harrison is a reporter with WFAE, Charlotte’s NPR news source. Reach him at [email protected].

—

The Ledger/WFAE sent emails this week to every Charlotte City Council member and to Mayor Vi Lyles. We asked:

◼️ Mayor Vi Lyles: “Thank you for reaching out. We’ve received your request; however, the Mayor is unfortunately unavailable.”

◼️ Mayor Pro Tem James Mitchell Jr. (at-large): Did not respond.

◼️ Dimple Ajmera (at-large): “Somehow your original email did not come to CM Ajmera’s inbox, and this email is just being seen as she was at an event last night. I wanted to acknowledge receipt of your email and let you know you were not being overlooked. Please feel free to reach out in the future.”

◼️ LaWana Mayfield (at-large): Did not respond.

◼️ Victoria Watlington (at-large): “I stand with the neighborhoods along the corridor. When we entertained this vote as a Council, the underground option was still on the table. I am disappointed to see it no longer is being considered.

“As a longtime Westover Hills resident, I am personally impacted by the expansion. We would be remiss if, knowing all we know at this moment in history, having come as far as we have, having invested as much as we have, having organized as much as we have, to continue down this all too familiar path.” [edited 2/12/26 to include response after article was initially published]

◼️ Danté Anderson (District 1): Did not respond

◼️ Malcolm Graham (District 2): Did not respond.

◼️ Joi Mayo (District 3): “I support delaying NCDOT’s work on the I-77 express lanes, as the project maps indicate a disproportionate impact on Black and brown communities along the corridor. Taking additional time allows Council to evaluate next steps, coordinate with our partners on the CRTPO, and ensure community concerns are meaningfully addressed.”

◼️ Renee Johnson (District 4): “I would like to first discuss this with the full council.”

◼️ JD Mazuera Arias (District 5): “Charlotte’s history of highway construction and fast-paced development to sustain growth tells a painful story, one where Black communities like Brooklyn, Biddleville, and McCorey Heights were divided or erased to make way for roads or growing development that served others. Today, we face a defining choice: whether to repeat that harm or chart a more just path forward.

“Given the scale of community concern around the I-77 South express lanes, especially in historically Black neighborhoods, I would support directing the City’s CRTPO representative to delay the project. That pause should allow for deeper study of alternatives, including the feasibility of tunneling near Uptown to avoid further displacement and long-term harm.

“We, the community, are not asking for perfection, we are asking for a process that doesn’t treat community stability as expendable. This is about repairing trust, honoring memory and history, and investing in infrastructure that serves all of Charlotte equitably. If anything, we should be more focused on more investment into public transit options. We cannot build toward the future by paving over the past.”

◼️ Kimberly Owens (District 6): “Thank you for reaching out and sharing your concerns about the rezoning. I appreciate you taking the time to explain your perspective. I’m still reviewing the details and listening to residents, and your feedback is an important part of that process. I’ll keep your comments in mind as the proposal moves forward.”

◼️ Ed Driggs (District 7): Did not respond.

—Compiled by Morgan Boonshaft

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