Opinion: Why Cornelius Changed Toll Vote

Editor’s note: On Sept. 23, the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization will decide whether to resurrect the controversial I-77 South toll-lane project. Since CRTPO voted to rescind support earlier this summer, the state of North Carolina has said Charlotte and surrounding towns will have to reimburse it for $60 million spent on design fees if they continue to withhold support.

Traffic is bad across the state, but none as bad as the stretch of I-77 that runs through our town. According to the American Transportation Research Institute, it has moved from 97th worst nationally in 2022 to 31st worst today, and the worst in NC.

Osborne

In 2014, the state signed a public-private partnership, or P3, promising predictable travel times to Charlotte, better flow in the general-purpose lanes, and shoulder lanes open to all traffic during rush hour. The lanes opened in 2019. Seven years later, those shoulder lanes exist only on paper. The toll lanes work for the few who pay, and everyone else sits in traffic.

The failure of the I-77 North managed lanes is not a full indictment of P3s as a funding mechanism. It is an indictment of the lack of resolve to fix the North before moving on to new toll lanes from Charlotte to South Carolina.

Proponents of the new P3 in the South say they have learned from the North, and that the old contract can’t be changed.  No one wants to be known as someone else’s lessons learned.  We want improvements made that relieve congestion for the entire region, not just us.

The contract might be locked, but the fixes are not. So fix the North. Cap the toll burden: the state can offer tax credits to residents of the counties these lanes run through. With peak round trips over $50, a daily commuter can top $10,000 a year, so credit everything greater than $1,000. Build what was promised: the shoulder hardening in the original deal. Lastly, fix the merges: extend and widen the ramps, and add a new exit at 27 to disperse the traffic.

With little relief offered for the North, we opposed the southern P3 but never had the votes to stop it, until Charlotte and Mecklenburg County saw the first designs and wanted out too. With enough votes at the CRTPO to rescind support, we did. Then, the state made good on its warning: the new budget claws back as much as $3 million from our town, plus delays on future road projects unless we reverse our vote.

The next CRTPO vote is scheduled for September 23 and we plan to change our vote to avoid the clawback and keep the P3 in the transportation plan.  Our vote will change. Our position has not. Fix the North.

Michael Osborne is mayor pro tem in Cornelius and serves as the town board representative on the Transportation Advisory Board. He is also the town’s representative on the CRTPO, which coordinates transportation policy in the Charlotte region.