CHARLOTTE — The Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization voted 64-5 on Sept. 23 to reinstate support for the public-private delivery plan for I-77 South, restoring regional authorization for a toll-lane project now estimated at $4.3 billion.
The official meeting agenda called for reinstating the board’s Oct. 16, 2024 resolution asking the N.C. Department of Transportation to proceed with a public-private partnership. CRTPO had rescinded that support May 20.
The agenda says the state budget signed July 7 required the board to reconsider the resolution within 90 days. Jurisdictions that reversed their May opposition would avoid reimbursing NCDOT for project-development expenses; state aid could otherwise be withheld until those costs were repaid.
Charlotte Business Journal independently reported the completed 64-5 vote and put the current estimated cost at $4.3 billion. Its report says NCDOT would contribute $600 million and a private partner would finance approximately $3.7 billion, to be recovered through toll revenue over a likely 50-year agreement. Those figures remain estimates until procurement and a contract are completed.
The proposal would add two express toll lanes in each direction along approximately 11 miles from the South Carolina line to Uptown Charlotte. The Business Journal reported that 10% to 15% of design work was completed before the May pause, four private groups have expressed interest and a partner selection is expected no earlier than 2027.
The Charlotte Ledger separately confirmed the 64-5 vote, identifying Mecklenburg County and Matthews as the only no votes. It reported that the state has committed at least $300 million for improvements in communities along the corridor and that NCDOT expects construction, if procurement and later approvals proceed, in the early 2030s.
The regional vote follows Charlotte City Council’s Sept. 21 decision to restore city support. That earlier city action was a necessary precursor; the Sept. 23 CRTPO vote was the later regional planning decision that returned the project to NCDOT’s public-private delivery process.
The business consequence is the reopening of a multibillion-dollar design, financing, construction and long-term operations pipeline. The vote does not award a contract, authorize construction or guarantee the current cost and funding estimates.
Image: 2018 file photograph of I-77 South near Westinghouse Boulevard in Charlotte by Adam Moss via Wikimedia Commons/Flickr, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0. The photograph was proportionally cropped, visibly labeled and given the standard NC Business Desk footer; no generative content.