{"id":3079,"date":"2026-07-09T17:37:34","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T17:37:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3079"},"modified":"2026-07-09T17:37:34","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T17:37:34","slug":"what-will-charlotte-do-next-in-i-77-fight-new-mayor-answers-questions-on-tolls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3079","title":{"rendered":"What will Charlotte do next in I-77 fight? New mayor answers questions on tolls"},"content":{"rendered":"

Charlotte\u2019s new leader says \u201ctime is of the essence\u201d to figure out how to handle a law<\/a> that makes municipalities who voted down adding toll lanes to Interstate 77 pay back millions. But Mayor Robert Harrington was noncommittal on Charlotte\u2019s next steps and whether the city will change its position on the controversial project.<\/p>\n

Read more Most NC private school students now get a taxpayer-funded voucher to pay costs<\/a><\/p>\n

North Carolina\u2019s new budget includes a provision<\/a> to make the communities who killed adding toll lanes from uptown to the South Carolina state line reimburse the state Department of Transportation for $60 million already spent on the project or lose access to other transportation money.<\/p>\n

Gov. Josh Stein signed the budget<\/a> into law Tuesday despite saying it \u201cmakes real the General Assembly\u2019s wrong-headed threats of retribution against Charlotte.\u201d<\/p>\n

The provision says the members of the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization who voted in May to rescind support for the toll lane project<\/a> have 90 days to reverse their position to avoid paying up.<\/p>\n

It calls for local governments to divide the cost based on the value of their weighted CRTPO votes. Representatives of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, Davidson, Monroe, Cornelius, Matthews, Mint Hill, Huntersville and the Metropolitan Transit Commission voted against the toll lanes. Monroe later reversed its position<\/a>, and the MTC was dissolved July 1<\/a> to be replaced by the new Metropolitan Public Transportation Authority.<\/p>\n

In an interview with The Charlotte Observer on Thursday, Harrington said he\u2019s \u201cstill working through the bill\u201d with staff including the city manager and city attorney to \u201cto make sure we understand all that\u2019s in there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTime is of the essence in working through it and making sure the community voices are heard, and that\u2019s my priority,\u201d said Harrington, an attorney by trade who took office last week<\/a> following the resignation of longtime Mayor Vi Lyles.<\/a><\/p>\n

Read more Why Shaw University is launching a new AI degree \u2014 in its divinity school<\/a><\/p>\n

The Charlotte City Council initially supported<\/a> the toll lanes when the CRTPO first signed off on the project in 2024. But the council changed its vote earlier this year following months of pushback from community members<\/a> over the potential impacts on existing neighborhoods and the environment.<\/p>\n

Harrington said he wants to focus on community engagement and transparency as the city determines its next steps while also \u201cmaking sure that we lean on relationships\u201d with other leaders in the region and maintaining relationships in Raleigh.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a runway now that we need to pull together the community, work on building trust \u2026 convening people, and coming up with the best outcome that we can come for the city,\u201d Harrington said. \u201c… I don\u2019t want to prejudge that outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charlotte has the biggest weighted vote on the CRTPO<\/a>, so the city stands to pay the most if it holds its position or has the potential to change the course of the project if it changes its mind again.<\/p>\n

Asked if the city will go back to supporting the toll lanes, Harrington reiterated Charlotte needs to \u201cmake sure we understand all of the things\u201d in the budget provision \u201cbefore we charge off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Most NC private school students now get a taxpayer-funded voucher to pay costs<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New Charlotte Mayor Robert Harrington says \u201ctime is of the essence\u201d to figure out next steps on I 77 toll lanes after Gov. Josh Stein signed NC state budget.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3078,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat will Charlotte do next in I-77 fight? 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