Monroe to reconsider I-77 toll vote over funding threat

MONROE, N.C. — State lawmakers are threatening to make communities opposed to the Interstate 77 project pay, and at least one city is having second thoughts.

Monroe will meet on Wednesday to discuss whether to support the tolls project after all. If Monroe reverses its position, it will raise questions about whether the toll lane project will come back.

State lawmakers are considering requiring opposed communities to pay back nearly $60 million that has already been spent on the project, with key funding for street maintenance and future projects on hold until they do so.

“It doesn’t matter if it was $20,000 or $30,000 or if it was $300 million,” Monroe Mayor Robert Burns said. “It’s still money that’s coming out of our taxpayers’ pockets, and so genuinely, it’s a huge concern for me.”

Monroe’s Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization representative, Surluta Anthony, surprisingly voted to kill the I-77 toll lane project despite Monroe not being near the interstate.

That move puts $1.3 million of road funding that Monroe gets from the state in jeopardy. That Powell Bill funding would be released when Monroe pays back its share for voting to kill the project. A Channel 9 estimate projects Monroe would be on the hook for more than $2 million.

Burns said Monroe will discuss directing its CRTPO representative to, once again, change her vote. Anthony and the town of Monroe voted in October 2024 in support of the project.

“This is just one of those things that I think that we really need to consider as a council moving forward, because this financial hit like this really could affect the city,” Burns said.

Whether there are now enough votes to bring back the toll lane project remains to be seen. It will depend on which communities show up and whether any others change their vote.

Shannon Binns with Sustain Charlotte said the state’s threat isn’t legal, and he wants communities to hold strong.

“If the state does move forward with passing a law that punishes Charlotte and the region in this way, it would face a potential lawsuit,” Binns said.

The Monroe City Council is scheduled to discuss the matter at 9 a.m. Wednesday.

On Tuesday night, Mecklenburg County Commissioners will also discuss the state’s threat to withhold money.

The CRTPO meets on Wednesday. This is when a possible revote on I-77 could take place.