NCDOT Selects Elevated Design for I-77 South Express Lanes in Charlotte

The North Carolina Department of Transportation chose a raised design for the I-77 South Express Lanes project on Wednesday. This decision came after officials spoke with close to 2,000 residents over the past year. The design will place express lanes above the current interstate or alongside it in the uptown section.

The plan reduces harm to properties in McCrorey Heights and Wesley Heights. It also lessens effects on Frazier Park. Pinewood Cemetery won't be touched.

"NCDOT's priority is to deliver transportation improvements in partnership with the region that respect the history of the neighborhoods along this project corridor," said Felix Obregon, NCDOT Division 10 engineer, in a statement, per WCNC.com. "Community feedback has been critical in shaping this project, and the elevated design option balances regional mobility needs with meaningful reductions in neighborhood and environmental impacts."

Transportation officials held meetings with residents at close to 30 small group sessions and two official public gatherings during the past year to field questions and collect opinions. People who lived nearby worried about noise. They also had concerns about how this would affect minority communities, making the plans a hot topic.

The department examined requests from the public to move I-77 underground in a tunnel. That option would cost billions of dollars per mile. The price equals about 10 to 20 times what NCDOT spends in capital each year. Maintenance costs would exceed $50 million per year — that's almost all of NCDOT Division 10's yearly maintenance fund, based on what the department learned from the Big Dig in Boston and Alaskan Way in Seattle.

The $3 billion project will stretch between Brookshire Freeway and the South Carolina state line. Local leaders approved money through a public-private partnership in 2024. The express lanes will link to current lanes that run through north Mecklenburg County and into Mooresville.

Just like with the I-77 North project, the current travel lanes will stay free to use. Construction could begin in the late 2020s or early 2030s, officials told Queen City News last summer.

The project design will shift through the procurement process as the department invites private companies to suggest ways to remove negative effects. A public hearing will happen later this year.

The agency is creating a space for engagement with the public and appointments for virtual office hours. Details will come out in the following weeks. The Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization first submitted the project for prioritization in 2014.

Residents can visit the project website or contact the team at i-77south@ncdot.gov or by calling 1-800-254-0498.