Key Charlotte-area transit group backs I-77 toll lanes from uptown to South Carolina

In a split vote, the Charlotte-area's transportation planning group Wednesday night endorsed extending Interstate 77 toll lanes from uptown to South Carolina through a public-private partnership.

The 11 miles of new lanes would help curb congestion and wrecks, members of the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization said in backing the plan at the Government Center in uptown.

The group of elected and other government officials coordinates plans for state and federal road projects in Mecklenburg, Union and Iredell counties.

Monday night, Charlotte City Council unanimously voted in favor of the public-private partnership option.

CRTPO uses a weighted voting system, so Charlotte's vote counted for 31 votes — almost half of the 68 votes available. Mecklenburg County commissioners voted 5-4 Tuesday against committing the county's two votes to the plan.

CRTPO board members representing Cornelius, Davidson, Huntersville, Marvin, Matthews and Weddington also voted against the plan Wednesday night.

Joining Charlotte in favor of the public-private partnership option were members from Pineville, Mint Hill, Wesley Chapel, Monroe, Mooresville, Stallings, Indian Trail, Marshville, Waxhaw, Union County and Mineral Springs.

In voting no, Matthews Mayor John Higdon questioned the potentially high cost of the tolls and whether local officials had bothered to ask the General Assembly for more funding to expand the highway.

Drivers would have to choose between sitting in congestion and paying $300 to $400 a month getting to and from work, he said.

"I believe it can be delivered with much lower tolls," Higdon said.

Charlotte City Council member Ed Driggs said the board would never know the answer to such questions if it rejected the plan. The board can always rescind its motion in the months ahead, he said.

The CRTPO board approved asking the N.C. Department of Transportation to move forward with the public-private partnership option. The group can rescind its support "at any point" until NCDOT publicly advertises for potential bidders, according to its motion.

A CRTPO subcommittee will work with state highway officials on terms of the partnership.

State and regional transportation planners have studied adding I-77 South toll lanes since 2007. The CRTPO added the project to its long-term plans in 2014.

The corridor has a crash rate 2.5 times higher than the statewide average for urban interstates, The Charlotte Observer previously reported. That's due to ever-mounting congestion, state highway officials said.

The state has committed $600 million to the project, nowhere near the $3.7 billion that NCDOT estimates the new lanes would cost. Even with toll revenue, a public-only approach faces a $1.3 billion funding gap, NCDOT officials said.

A public-private partnership could solve the financing issues and start construction by 2028, according to NCDOT. The state would own the lanes while partnering with a contractor to design, build, finance, operate and maintain them.