The city council also approved a resolution to request NCDOT to pause the I-77 project.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. โ Charlotte City Council voted 6-5 to rescind its support for the I-77 South toll lane project. Now, the council representative ask for a vote with the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization.ย
Councilmember Ed Driggs, the city council representative on the CRTPO, will now go to the organization to ask for a vote to rescind full support for the project. The planning organization is made up of representatives from the state, local communities and more.ย
The city council also approved a resolution to request the department of transportation to pause the I-77 project for due diligence, a targeted reevaluation and design analysis with community benefit considerations.ย
These two votes are significant because of the community backlash the project has faced from west Charlotte residents, whose homes would be impacted by the construction of the toll lanes, to sustainability advocates, who say widening the highway will lead to more issues than it fixes.ย
The project would build elevated toll lanes on 11-miles of I-77 South from Uptown to South Carolina.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation says the toll lane project is important for the growth of Charlotte, citing crash rates and heavy traffic. The department has presented multiple designs; all have faced opposition.ย
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