A bill that would require NCDOT to cancel a contract to build toll lanes on I-77 north of Charlotte remains alive in the state Senate.
House Bill 954 passed the House last week and was sent to the Senate, where it was referred to the Transportation Committee.
If that committee sends it along, it would need at least one other committee vote - the Appropriations Committee - before going to a full Senate vote, according to Sen. Jeff Tarte (R-Cornelius).
Tarte says he’s is optimistic about the bill’s chances – if it gets to the full Senate. The question is, will it? Right now, it’s a waiting game for toll opponents.
Tarte said he and project critics – including Lake Norman business leaders with the group I-77 Business Plan – are lobbying and “educating” Senate leaders. That included a meeting with Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger (R-Eden).
Gov. Pat McCrory and the DOT have said they’re committed to the project.
Meanwhile, there’s an important element in the House bill that isn’t getting much attention in Facebook and social media posts: A key provision added last week that would suspend a dozen road projects in the Lake Norman area.
They include:
- Widening NC 73, NC 115, and US 21.
- Improvements at couple of key interchanges/intersections
- Improvements on Hambright Road in Huntersville and Lakewood Road in north Charlotte.
These projects are critical for the region to keep up with - or catch up with - growth. But funding would be frozen for up to 10 years to help pay any penalties if NCDOT cancels the I-77 project.
Just how much those penalties might be is an open question. The NCDOT has said it could cost between $82 million and $300 million pay off I-77 Mobility Partners, the private contractor that has already begun construction of the toll lanes.
Meanwhile, another question is what happens if the project is actually canceled. The bill doesn't address that question.
I-77 north of Charlotte is congested at rush hour, mainly in the stretch through Lake Norman. In 2014, NCDOT signed a 50-year contract for road widening with I-77 Mobility Partners, a subsidiary of Spain-based infrastructure giant Cintra. The project calls for toll lanes on 26-miles of the highway from Charlotte north to Exit 36 in Mooresville.
