Local

Officials silent on I-77 toll updates

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — The Interstate 77 toll lane project is still congested with controversy.

It's been 62 days since a toll project in Texas built by Cintra, the same company in charge of the I-77 express lanes, declared bankruptcy.

Gov. Pat McCrory called on his staff to review all legal and financial options.

More than two months later, it still isn't clear what those options are. During his visit to Charlotte Monday, McCrory refused to answer Channel 9’s questions about the project.

There are thousands of people determined to keep this a major issue through Election Day.

There are two bills in the North Carolina House with bipartisan support to cancel the contract. One bill, from Rep. Charles Jeter, R-Mecklenburg, has more than 20 co-sponsors.

Huntersville leaders unanimously passed a resolution Monday night in support of Jeter's bill.

Last week, hundreds of toll protesters took to the Exit 28 bridge to rally against the controversial project.
 
The anti-toll movement has gotten the attention of Cintra. Channel 9 learned the company has hired three lobbyists for the 2016 session.
 
After the bankruptcy, North Carolina Department of Transportation Secretary Nick Tennyson traveled to Texas to reevaluate the I-77 project's future. Now, 57 days after that trip, what he learned is still unknown.
 
McCrory refused Channel 9's request for a timetable on a report from the trip.