Skip to main content

More Toll Lanes in Charlotte? Maybe, Possibly, Who Knows?

Image
By
Is a possible extension of the I-77 Express Toll Lanes in Charlotte in the works?

Could more toll lanes be on the way for commuters in Charlotte?  It's certainly possible.  

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) recently received a bid from a yet-to-be-named company proposing to extend the I-77 toll lanes southwards.  This extension would run from where the toll lanes currently end at the Brookshire Freeway (NC 16/US 277) to the South Carolina State Line.

There are not a lot of details about the proposal - from the possible cost, design, and who submitted the proposal.  NCDOT received the proposal unsolicited, and DOT officials shared general details during a meeting of the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization (CRTPO) this past Wednesday.

The plan would be a public-private partnership, but beyond that, not much more is known.  The 14-member CRTPO board voted 8 to 6 in favor of studying the proposal and later recommendations.  They also asked NCDOT to provide more information about this bid.  Currently, there is no programming for the proposed toll lanes.  Further, North Carolina state law would require CRTPO to request and approve the toll lane project before any project programming could begin.

Sources:

Commentary:

Over the last decade, toll toads in Charlotte have been a heated issue.  The I-77 Toll Lane project from Charlotte north to Lake Norman was one of the most controversial and heated local topics.  (One that I wish I could have covered in detail - but kids, grad school, stuff like that.)

The I-77 Toll Lanes was one of the issues that cost Republican NC Governor Pat McCrory his re-election in 2016.  A significant number of Republicans in Northern Mecklenburg County endorsed his challenger, current Governor Roy Cooper, during that election cycle.

Further, delays and mishandling in construction didn't allow for the toll lanes to fully open until 2019.  There were contract disputes, threats to void the contract, and much more! (I'm telling you; I should have paid closer attention to it.)

The unsolicited proposal to NCDOT caused unease with several CRTPO members; however, they all admit that I-77 from Exit 11 (Brookshire/I-277) south to the NC/SC state line needs to be widened/improved in some way.  It is currently a three-lane in each direction freeway that frequently gets clogged. 

At this point, the proposal is just that - a proposal.  However, it's been a rumored possibility for a few years.  Whether or not CRTPO gives the idea its blessing is unknown.  But many community leaders on the CRTPO board still have a bad taste in their mouths after Northern Mecklenburg's toll experience.  As a result, it may take a whole lot of mouthwash to make these toll lanes a reality.
Labels:

Comments

Anonymous said…
I dont know the mile markers offhand, but a section of that 77 described for possible extension of express lanes I think would be a construction nightmare, roughly from downtown to the Tyvola exit. Its already really narrow down thru there. To Tyvola to the state line not as bad wouldn't take much to widen
5:50 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hawaii Route 8930

By
Hawaii Route 8930 is a 2.5-mile State Highway on the Island of O'hau.  Hawaii Route 8930 is aligned over Kualakai Parkway over the course of its entire alignment south from Interstate H-1 to Kapolei Parkway.  Hawaii Route 8930 is one of the newest Hawaii Routes only having been completed during 2010.   This page is part of the Gribblenation O'ahu Highways page.  All Gribblenation and Roadwaywiz media related to the highway system of O'ahu can be found at the link below: https://www.gribblenation.org/p/gribblenation-oahu-highways-page.html Part 1; the history of Hawaii Route 8930 The history of Hawaii Route 8930 is brief given it is a modern facility.  Hawaii Route 8930 and what was known as "North-South Road" were built to facilitate the developing areas of Kapolei on western O'ahu.  According to hawaiihighways.com the first stage of Hawaii Route 8930 was completed from Kapolei Parkway north to Farrington Highway as a four-lane highway during November...
Post a Comment
Read more

Madera County Road 607 and the Stockton-Los Angeles Road

By
Madera County Road 607 is an approximately seven-mile rural unsurfaced highway which spans from Road 600 near Raymond west to Road 29.   Road 607 west from Raymond Road Cemetery (established in 1905) is part of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road corridor surveyed in 1853. The corridor lies in the gap between Fresno Crossing at the Fresno River west to Newton's Crossing at the Chowchilla River. The Buchanan Copper Mine would be along what is now Road 607 in the namesake Buchanan Hollow during July 1863. The Buchanan Mine is thought to have once had a population of between 1,000-1,500 residents by the early 1870s. Copper prices would decline in the decade after the Civil War and much of the activity at Buchanan shifted towards cattle ranching. The last businesses in the community would shutter during World War II and it is now a true ghost town. Part 1; the history of Madera County Road 607 and the Stockton-Los Angeles Road What is now Road 607 was a component of the larger Sto...
Post a Comment
Read more

Old US Route 60/70 through Hell (Chuckwall Valley Road and Ragsdale Road)

By
Back in 2016 I explored some of the derelict roadways of the Sonoran Desert of Riverside County which were part of US Route 60/70; Chuckwalla Valley Road and Ragsdale Road. US 60 and US 70 were not part of the original run of US Routes in California.  According to USends.com US 60 was extended into California by 1932.  US 60 doesn't appear on the California State Highway Map until the 1934 edition. USends.com on US 60 endpoints 1934 State Highway Map Conversely US 70 was extended into California by 1934, it first appears on the 1936 State Highway Map. USends.com on US 70 endpoints 1936 State Highway Map When US 60 and US 70 were extended into California they both utilized what was Legislative Route Number 64 from the Arizona State Line west to Coachella Valley.  LRN 64 was part of the 1919 Third State Highway Bond Act routes.  The original definition of LRN 64 routed between Mecca in Blythe and wasn't extended to the Arizona State Line until 1931 acc...
3 comments
Read more