{"id":505,"date":"2026-05-22T12:08:43","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T12:08:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=505"},"modified":"2026-05-22T12:08:43","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T12:08:43","slug":"malcolm-graham-vote-on-i-77-project-a-defining-moment-for-charlotte","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=505","title":{"rendered":"Malcolm Graham: Vote on I-77 project a \u2018defining moment\u2019 for Charlotte"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the past two weeks Charlotte has been rocked by two momentous votes<\/a> on the Interstate 77 South toll lane project that\u2019s left some residents questioning what could be next.<\/p>\n

Read more Nashville, Atlanta will each host Super Bowl in next 5 years. Why not Charlotte?<\/a><\/p>\n

On Thursday, Charlotte City Council member Malcolm Graham<\/a>, whose district the controversial project would\u2019ve impacted, was one of the first city officials to share his thoughts in a public forum.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight from the beginning they fumbled the ball,\u201d he said in reference to the North Carolina Department of Transportation\u2019s handling of the plan.<\/p>\n

Graham shared before a gathering at the Charlotte Journalism Collaborative<\/a> Local News Impact Summit on Thursday that he believes something has to be done to the highway to address congestion. But the approach matters, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to do it with the community,\u201d Graham said. \u201cThey can\u2019t be at the table when the plans are done and the drawings are laid out\u2026 the community has to be at the table right from the very beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Graham was among the council members who voted earlier this month to effectively rescind support for the project. He said reading a Charlotte Observer<\/a> article prior to the meeting about the ongoing I-77 debate and the project\u2019s potential impacts on his neighbors swayed his decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day it came down to my neighbors and their discomfort with the process,\u201d Graham said.<\/p>\n

To address congestion and crashes on I-77, NCDOT planned to add toll lanes to an 11-mile stretch from uptown to the South Carolina border.<\/p>\n

The corridor, according to NCDOT, has the state\u2019s highest congestion levels, seeing over 160,000 cars a day. The agency estimated that, with or without toll lanes, I-77 will see a 25% increase in traffic by 2050, meaning the roadway will see over 200,000 cars a day.<\/p>\n

But when NCDOT rolled out details on the project in November, support began to wane.<\/p>\n

Read more Top-ranked basketball player in SC signs with Charlotte 49ers. What we know<\/a><\/p>\n

Especially from residents along the corridor. The project could have negatively impacted neighborhoods along I-77, many of which are historically Black neighborhoods that have borne the cost of growth before.<\/p>\n

The more recent turn of events started with the Charlotte City Council voting 6-5 on May 11 to direct its representative on the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization to rescind support for the project.<\/p>\n

Then, late Wednesday afternoon, the CRTPO voted to similarly end support after a debate that saw many members share uncertainty of what the decision means. Or the possible drawbacks of the move.<\/p>\n

CRTPO Chair and Stallings Mayor Pro Tem Brad Richardson, who voted against rescinding support, cautioned members just prior to the vote.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoing so tonight requires us to do something that\u2019s final, perhaps irreversible,\u201d Richardson said. \u201cI think it\u2019s poor public policy to act in that direction with the (Charlotte City Council) action being provided just nine days ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following the vote, NCDOT said in a statement the decision meant \u201cthe loss of $700M in critical transportation funding designed to address congestion, crash rates and community driven priorities for the Charlotte region.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Graham shared Thursday the decision by CRTPO was a \u201cdefining moment\u201d for the city. He said many have come to feel officials are more concerned about those moving to Charlotte, and not those who have called the city home forever.<\/p>\n

\u201cCharlotte is changing and growing,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s so many people in our community that feel they\u2019re victims of the change and not part of it\u2026 People are saying \u2018What about us?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Missing deaf dog walked an amazing 5 miles, then things got scary, NC rescuers say<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Charlotte City Council member Malcolm Graham reacts to the regional transportation\u2019s board vote to end support for the I-77 project on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":504,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nMalcolm Graham: Vote on I-77 project a \u2018defining moment\u2019 for Charlotte - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=505\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Malcolm Graham: Vote on I-77 project a \u2018defining moment\u2019 for Charlotte - 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