CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Despite all the backlash against the future toll lanes in Lake Norman, local leaders are pushing forward with a plan that could add managed lanes south of uptown Charlotte.
Dr. Mike Miltich is a Cornelius town commissioner who has been opposed to toll lanes for years, so he couldn't stomach voting for a similar project brought before transportation leaders Wednesday night.
"They don't really promote congestion relief. They don't really help the average person," Miltich said. "A lot of the elected officials in the Lake Norman region have seen how disastrous the managed car lanes are."
Now those lanes could be coming to south Charlotte.
Past toll lane coverage:
- Cancellation of I-77 tolls could potentially cost NC millions, study says
- NCDOT to make changes to I-77 toll lane work zone
- Cooper's DOT secretary choice not sitting well with I-77 toll lane opponents
- I-77 toll lane construction impacts homeless camps
- 9 investigates costly impact of I-77 tolls as businesses leave
- $1.36M fine levied on I-77 toll lane contractor by NCDOT
- Road assistance to be offered in toll-lane construction zone
- 'Complete and delete' option would open I-77 lanes without toll charge
The Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization is sending dozens of road projects to the state to be ranked for funding.
One of them would add managed toll lanes from the South Carolina border to uptown.
Most of the towns on the transportation board voted against the package, but since the vote is weighted, Charlotte's vote accounted for 46 percent.
Vi Lyles, Charlotte's CRTPO representative, voted “yes,” guaranteeing the Queen City could be facing more tolls.
Kurt Naas, with Widen I-77, who is against the Interstate 77 toll-lane project, hopes the vote will mobilize Charlotte residents to get involved.
"Hopefully Charlotte will realize the toll lanes we have in Lake Norman are going to come to them unless they wake up," Naas said.
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Naas is also upset over another one of the projects sent to the state that would actually widen I-77 from Statesville to Mooresville, ignoring the spots that need it most.
"Who decides that a widening project from Mooresville to Statesville is more important than the bottleneck in Lake Norman?" Naas asked.
It's not an immediate process.
If the projects score well enough, transportation leaders will then have to sign off on them again before construction starts.
One thing that's unclear now is who would be in charge of the project, either the state or a private company like Cintra.
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