I-77 Toll Project in Danger? | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: The author of this post is Rick Henderson, who is editor-in-chief for the Carolina Journal, John Hood Publisher.

    The special session of the General Assembly that convened today is taking a harsh view of the controversial plan to add high-occupancy tolling lanes to the center corridor of Interstate 77 north of Charlotte.

    Outgoing Gov. Pat McCrory fiercely defended the project despite significant local opposition.

    House Bill 4, sponsored by Mecklenburg County Reps. Tricia Cotham, John Bradford, and Justin Moore, would terminate the contract with I-77 Mobility Partners entirely as of July 1, instructing the Department of Transportation to pay any damages for terminating the contract from "unobligated" department funds.


CJ photo by Kari Travis

    House Bill 7, sponsored by the same representatives, would order a division of the Department of Administration, advised by the legislature's Fiscal Research Division, to review the contract to be sure it was completed legally, "specifically focusing on the issue of compliance with the applicable state and federal laws governing the bidding and awarding of public contracts."

    Read Carolina Journal's full coverage of the I-77 controversy by following this link.