The draft resolution, which council has not yet adopted, asks for “targeted reevaluation and design analysis.”
CHARLOTTE, N.C. โ The Charlotte City Council may call on the North Carolina Department of Transportation to pause “irreversible actions” on theย proposed I-77 South toll lane expansion project, citing unresolved concerns about neighborhood displacement, environmental impacts, and whether the current design adequately reflects community input.
The draft resolution, which WCNC Charlotte obtained through a source, does not seek to kill the project. It asks NCDOT to halt procurement steps and other actions that cannot be undone while a “targeted reevaluation and design analysis” is conducted โ a focused reassessment of traffic models, design options, and potential mitigation strategies.
The resolution has yet to be adopted and is subject to change, though councilmembers did reference iterations of it at Monday’s meeting.
The project would widen roughly 11 miles of I-77 with two express lanes in each direction from Uptown to the South Carolina state line, which officials describe as the most expensive transportation project in state history, with a price tag exceeding $3.7 billion. NCDOT has said the state can contribute $600 million, with a private developer expected to cover the rest.
The Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization approved the project for advancement in October 2024, to be delivered through a public-private partnership.
A central concern in the resolution is the project’s potential impact on historically Black neighborhoods and underserved communities along the corridor. The council acknowledged that highway construction has repeatedly divided and displaced such communities across the country and called on the environmental review process to account for those historical patterns.ย
NCDOT has taken some steps in response to community pressure โ establishing an I-77 South Corridor Advisory Group and agreeing to an early project pause โ but the resolution says that moving forward without further analysis “risks irreversible harm and forecloses potentially better solutions.”
The resolution makes the following specific asks of NCDOT and federal agencies:
- Pause procurement and irreversible actions pending reevaluation
- Update traffic and revenue projections using current modeling tools
- Evaluate non-toll or hybrid alternatives and phased, lower-impact options
- Assess displacement impacts and conduct an environmental justice review
- Advance to a full Environmental Impact Statement if warranted
- Incorporate multimodal infrastructure and context-sensitive design features
- Ensure community engagement is accessible and publicly documented
The resolution explicitly acknowledges that “final decisions regarding project programming, environmental review, and design approval rest with the appropriate state and federal agencies.” If adopted, it would be transmitted to Gov. Josh Stein, NCDOT, the CRTPO, the N.C. Board of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, and Charlotte’s legislative delegation.
Contact Julie Kay at juliekay@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X andย Instagram.
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