CHARLOTTE – The North Carolina Department of Transportation announced today it is working with local leaders to establish a Community Advisory Group to help shape conversations around potential benefits and impacts for the I-77 South Express Lanes project. Community members along the project corridor are invited to apply to serve on the Advisory Group before April 24. The application is available online and in-person at the Community Engagement Center.
To ensure transparency and reflect community interests, a group of local leaders and community members will review applications and select 11 participants based on the level of interest and community knowledge.
Feedback from the newly formed panel will be used to help inform NCDOT as it develops its first draft Request for Proposals (RFP) for developers. The first round of recommendations from the panel and first draft of the RFP will be released in June. NCDOT anticipates releasing the first draft RFP at the end of June 2026.
Shortlisted Developers Plan to Visit Corridor in May
NCDOT will host public listening sessions with the four shortlisted developer teams on May 12-13. 2026. Listening sessions will be held at the Community Engagement Center. More details about timing of the sessions will be released the week of April 27.
Community Engagement Center Sees Steady Interest
Since the Community Engagement Center opened on March 30, staff have met with more than 67 members of the community to discuss the project and answer questions. The Center serves as an ongoing resource and meeting space for surrounding communities, providing project information, offering one-on-one meetings with NCDOT staff, and creating opportunities to discuss potential community enhancements and beneficial programs.
Visitors can make virtual and in-person appointments online or by calling 1‑800‑254‑0498. Drop-in appointments are also available.
The Center will also host community events and provide updates on project milestones and topic areas of interest for the community. To receive updates about upcoming events at the Center, please visit the I-77 South Express Lanes project page and enter your email or phone number. Project updates, events, and project milestones will also be made available on the project web page.
Hours of Operation and Appointments
The Center is open to during the following hours*:
- Monday through Friday: 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
- Saturday: 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
- Sunday: Closed
*State and federal holidays may impact operating hours. Project BackgroundI-77 South is one of the most congested corridors in the state, with a crash rate 2.8 times higher than the statewide average for urban interstates. On average, there are five crashes daily and five fatalities annually on the corridor.
To address these concerns, the Board of the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization (CRTPO) voted in 2014 to include the project in its 2040 Metropolitan Transportation Plan, and is included in the 2026 – 2035 State Transportation Improvement Plan. The project is designed to improve safety, address increasing congestion, and provide more reliable travel times between the Brookshire Freeway and the South Carolina state line.
NCDOT's role, at the direction of local leaders, is to implement the project. The project is currently in the procurement process, and design is only 10-15% complete.
Preliminary design maps that have been released represent early-stage concepts and are intended to support planning and public input. As the project progresses, designs will continue to be refined with a focus on minimizing impacts and maximizing community benefits.
Community PreservationConcerns have been raised about elevated lanes near some of Charlotte's oldest Black neighborhoods. NCDOT recognizes the historic harm caused by past highway projects. This is precisely why vertical design is being prioritized.
Building upward, rather than outward, minimizes impacts to homes, businesses and community spaces. A traditional widening approach would require significantly more displacement. This design choice is intended to protect, not disrupt, these communities. The four shortlisted developer teams are also looking at additional ways to further reduce project impacts through their own innovative designs.
Traffic Science vs. Outdated SolutionsDecades of highway engineering have proven that states cannot simply widen our way out of congestion. Adding traditional non-tolled lanes to a corridor experiencing hyper-growth creates induced demand—the lanes fill up almost immediately, returning commute times to square one.
The shift toward managed lanes is a mathematically proven necessity that was deemed a local priority since 2007. Managed lanes guarantee a reliable travel time when it matters most, providing essential congestion relief for the corridor. Relying on outdated solutions will only guarantee outdated results. This is why the region has prioritized the project for funding every year since 2014.
Funding a Safer CorridorAdding toll lanes to an existing route can be frustrating for drivers who feel they are being charged for something they already use. However, drivers will have the choice to use the express lanes for a reliable travel time. Revenue collected will go toward paying for a massive regional priority that the state cannot fund through traditional funding alone. This project will be a major modernization of the corridor, touching every interchange over 11 miles.
This project does not remove existing capacity; it will add two additional lanes drivers can choose to use when time is critical. The lanes will also be open and free to use for transit, registered carpoolers with three people in the vehicle and first responders.
A public-private partnership (P3) delivery method, approved by the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization (CRTPO) board in October 2024, makes the broader safety, bridge, and infrastructure upgrades along the entire corridor financially possible without starving the region of other critical projects.
RESOURCES AND CONTACT INFORMATION
Project Website: ncdot.gov/projects/i-77-south-express-lanes
Property Owner Resources: ncdot.gov/projects/Pages/property-owner-resources.aspx
Email: i-77south@ncdot.gov
Phone: 1-800-254-0498
Spanish and Other Languages: 1-800-481-6494