The actual authority to stop the I-77 expansion lies with the CRTPO, not City Council.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. โ Charlotte City Council members are discussing the possibility of holding another vote on the controversial Iโ77 toll lane expansion project, days after the council voted 6-5 to rescind its support Monday.
“Somebody among the six has got to be willing to say, ‘OK, I will now support a motion to reverse the action that we took,'” Councilmember Ed Driggs said.ย
When asked if that has happened yet, Driggs said, “Conversations are ongoing.”
A meeting about I-77 scheduled for Thursday was abruptly cancelled. Driggs said the cancellation came both because council members were unsettled and because a demonstration had been planned in the chamber.
While the council vote made waves, the actual authority to stop the I-77 expansion lies with the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organisation, known as the CRTPO, not the City Council. Driggs represents the council on the CRTPO board and called Monday’s vote a mistake.
“They were surprised. It was a mistake,” Driggs said. “Too many people thought that they could vote no and thereby stay in good standing with the activists and not do any harm.”
A two-thirds vote of the board would be needed to overturn support. Driggs is hopeful this can be addressed soon, before it’s taken to the CRTPO.
“I think some of us are hopeful that we can do that, because for the rescinding motion to stand and for the CRTPO then to vote is a terrible outcome, he said. “You lose $3.5 billion worth of investment. You lose 18 new bridges going from east to west across I-77. You lose all the benefits, and at the same time, you incur the wrath of state government.”
Charlotte holds 31 of the 74 votes on the CRTPO board, meaning other municipalities and regional leaders will also have a say in the project’s fate.ย
Cornelius joined the list on Friday. Michael Osborne, mayor pro tem for the town of Cornelius, told WCNC Charlotte that until it’s shown the existing toll lanes through Lake Norman can improve I-77 congestion, there’s no reason to start another project.ย
Mecklenburg County leaders have consistently opposed the project and reaffirmed that position in conversations this week.
“I can tell you this, thatย the county position has not changed, and I suspect it won’t change,” County Commissioner Chairman Mark Jerell said Thursday. “We are clearly on the side of people. We voted the way we did when the project was proposed. With the additional information, I don’t see the county position changing, and so if the city tees up that motion, I suspect the county will be in lockstep.”
The CRTPO is scheduled to meet on May 20, though Driggs said he does not expect anything to happen, if at all, until their meeting in June.
“Now we have the situation we have, because by rescinding the authority that the council had given and thereby setting in motion a rescission by the CRTPO, we were basically calling the whole thing off permanently,” he said. “There was no such thing as unrescind.”
The full interview with Driggs will air on Flashpoint, available on the WCNC Charlotte app starting Sunday morning at 11 a.m. and on demand.
Contact Julie Kay at juliekay@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X andย Instagram.
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