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Senate will not vote to cancel contract for I-77 toll lanes

RALEIGH, N.C. — Despite thousands of emails and phone calls from local residents and overwhelming bipartisan support in the House, Senate leadership will not vote to cancel the contract for the Interstate 77 tolls.

Mecklenburg County Sen. Jeff Tarte told Channel 9 that the bill is dead.

Tarte said there isn't enough support to vote on the bill that would cancel the contract with Cintra after the North Carolina Department of Transportation told lawmakers there would be a ripple effect across the state.

The NCDOT said the bill would jeopardize around 73 other projects throughout the state.

Tarte said he will introduce more legislation to cancel the contract next year.

People against the tolls said they are bad for the economy, won't solve the congestion problem and will make it harder for the state to widen the highway over the next 50 years.

Past coverage: House passes plan to kill I-77 toll contract

The North Carolina House passed a measure Thursday that would axe the state's contract with a company building tolls on Interstate 77.

House Bill 954, filed by state Rep. Charles Jeter, R-Huntersville, passed with bipartisan support 81-27. It now goes to the Senate.

The move capped a whirlwind 24 hours for members of anti-toll groups who watched as the bill swiftly moved from House committees to the Senate.

"This is like a three-year overnight success," said Kurt Naas, founder of toll opposition group Widen I-77.

The bill would direct the North Carolina Department of Transportation to cancel the contract to build toll lanes on I-77 near Charlotte. Work is already underway and expected to wrap up in 2018.
 
Jeter said he expects that the state can cancel the contract for cause. However, he crafted the measure to set aside a reserve fund to pay any costs associated with canceling the contract.
 
Part of the reserve fund would come from suspending other regional projects. Jeter said some of the projects, like two egresses, would only be needed if the toll project is completed. However, the idea drew a rebuke from North Carolina Department of Transportation leaders who oppose Jeter's bill.
 
"If [the cost to cancel] is paid then there is no money to do the projects or money has to be made up from throughout this system, throughout this state, to fill the hole," NCDOT Secretary Nick Tennyson said.
 
Bill supporters acknowledge there are imperfections.
 
"The penalties should be paid out of the funds that were allocated to the toll project. The state of North Carolina has dedicated over $300 million to that toll project -- pay the penalty out of that," Naas said.
 
It's not yet clear when the Senate will take up the matter. Channel 9 contacted Gov. Pat McCrory's office to inquire about his position on the bill but did not immediately hear back.