Transportation safety advocate produces report detailing I-77 construction issues

MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. — From flooded freeways to chunks of metal on the interstate, I-77 construction issues have been well-documented.

Even now, as the project enters its alleged final steps, transportation safety advocates are raising more concerns.

[LINK: PowerPoint report addressing I-77 construction safety]

“It’s just a mess,” said Michelle Ferlauto, founder of the Lake Norman Transportation Safety Partnership.

Ferlauto sent the North Carolina Department of Transportation a detailed PowerPoint highlighting the issues she and other drivers are still seeing.

Channel 9's past coverage on I-77 construction zone issues:

• 9 Investigates: I-77 toll lane reported issues increased by hundreds since 2015
• I-77 toll lane construction debris leads to costly repairs
• Truck driver calls I-77 construction zone one of worst he's seen
• Big rig crashes into barriers in I-77 toll lane construction zone
• Woman nearly killed wants NCDOT to keep drivers safe in I-77 construction zone
• Concrete barriers to protect construction workers, treacherous for drivers
• 9 investigates costly impact of I-77 tolls as businesses leave

“You got barrels everywhere, uneven lanes, very narrow lanes,” Ferlauto said.

Ferlauto said the merging ramps in Lake Norman are too short, resulting in eye-popping incidents.

She said ghost lanes are confusing drivers, plastic toll dividers are inches away from the general purpose lanes, creating a white knuckle experience, and the construction of a roundabout off of Exit 30 in Davidson is resulting in standstill traffic on the interstate.

“The highway patrol likes to say, ‘Don't drive distracted,' but this is a work zone that is just full of nothing but distractions,” Ferlauto said.

Included in Ferlauto's report are comments from citizens saying, “I will not get on that road if I can possibly avoid it.”

Ferlauto also asked NCDOT about the lack of lighting on the interstate, an issue Channel 9 has reported on extensively in the past.

“How is a driver going to navigate the road and concentrate on it when they can't even see it?” she asked.

Ferlauto also voiced her concerns about a lack of payments being made to people who submit claims to NCDOT.

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