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Justice Circle Economic fairness and racial equity are on the line.
North Carolina is advancing the I-77 South Express Lanes project in Charlotte. This is a state highway expansion project that would elevate and widen a large section of I-77 South, adding toll lanes, with a projected cost of $4.3 billion. As a public-private partnership, it would allow a private operator to set dynamic toll prices.
Project maps from the NC Department of Transportation show the proposed project will take hundreds of parcels, displace dozens of homes and businesses—primarily in Black neighborhoods—and leave hundreds more households beside a wider or towering elevated interstate carrying more traffic, more noise, and more pollution.
Community members are urging decision-makers to pause the procurement timeline before the next major step so the public can see a transparent analysis of who pays, who benefits, and what alternatives exist.
Why this matters:
Economic unfairness
- Toll lanes can make mobility pay-to-play, where those who can afford tolls get faster, more reliable trips, while everyone else gets slower, less reliable travel.
- Billions in highway expansion can crowd out investments that help more people. It’s important to consider alternatives like transit, safe walking, and reliable buses.
Racial equity
- Highway expansions have historically harmed Black communities through displacement, neighborhood division, and long-term economic damage.
- Many are concerned this project risks repeating those harms in historically Black neighborhoods, and that impacts and alternatives have not been fully and transparently evaluated.
What people are asking for:
Pause procurement long enough to ensure:
- A rigorous, public alternatives analysis (including multimodal options)
- Updated, specific information on impacts (housing, businesses, community sites)
- Meaningful public engagement before decisions become hard to reverse