Protesters make voices heard against I-77 toll road project

CORNELIUS, N.C. — Protesters rallied during rush hour Thursday along Interstate 77 in Cornelius.

Those protesting told Channel 9 that the I-77 toll lane project is the single most important issue for their area, and with North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper in town, they wanted to make sure their concerns were heard.

[IMAGES: Protesters show up to rally against I-77 toll project]

Passing cars honked their horns in support of the protesters near Exit 28.

Many believe the toll project has created a major headache, along with congestion and hours and patience.

"We all know the contract was a terrible misgiving to our community and we know corruption is at the root of it and we won't stop protesting,” protester Mariel Carr said.

Past I-77 toll road coverage

• Costly new compromise for I-77 toll lanes, but is there enough money for all local projects?]
• Some city leaders say I-77 tolls could stop big business growth
• Lawmakers pass transportation bill without addressing I-77 tolls project
• Audit: NCDOT followed all laws when awarding I-77 tolls contract
• Just how expensive will I-77 tolls be?
• Advocates for plan to stop I-77 toll project say progress being made

Protesters are hoping state leaders can cancel the project.

"We have to keep sending a signal to Raleigh, that we don't want this contract, we want it to go away,” Carr said. “We want someone to take a stand and do away with it even if it's expensive."

Cooper said at an event in Charlotte that canceling the toll road contract isn’t that simple.

“It's fiscally irresponsible to do that,” Cooper said. “It would require hundreds of millions of dollars that aren't available in the budget."

Cooper agreed that the contract is a bad one, but said that with the help of the North Carolina Department of Transportation, they're hoping to fix it.

"What Secretary (Jim) Trogdon is going to work to do is get Cintra to cap tolls so that we don't have these unlimited tolls on people and have frequent users to reduce costs on people."

Until the change becomes reality, protesters said rallies will continue,

"If the governor doesn't cancel it now and we leave it in place, seven or eight years from now, like every other project in the country, this project will go bankrupt,” said Rep. Jeff Tarte.

Cooper did not provide an exact timeline of when he expects the I-77 toll changes to take effect or when the toll project might be complete.

Cox Media Group