Charlotte City Council voted 7-4 on Monday, Sept. 21, to reinstate support for the I-77 South express toll lane project. The 11-mile expansion would add express lanes from Uptown Charlotte to the South Carolina state line.
The vote reverses the council's May decision and directly affects Fort Mill and Tega Cay commuters who use the corridor daily. As we reported Sept. 21, the vote had been expected to be close.
The Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization (CRTPO) is scheduled to vote Wednesday, Sept. 23, on whether to revive the project. Charlotte holds the largest voting bloc on the board, controlling about 41% of the votes. The Charlotte Ledger reported that Charlotte's reversal should give the project enough votes to pass at the CRTPO meeting, which requires only a majority of members present.
Council members Malcolm Graham and Joi Mayo, both representing west Charlotte, were the only two members who flipped from their May votes against the project. Graham cited a $300 million community benefits package from the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), offered by NCDOT Secretary Daniel Johnson in a July 2026 letter, as the reason.
"The $300 million or more will be paid at closing," Graham said at the Sept. 21 meeting, according to WBTV. "It will be earmarked specifically for west Charlotte … It means homeowners are protected."
Graham called the agreement a "legally binding document" and said it would be signed Tuesday, Sept. 22. Mayo said 17 of 22 bridges along the corridor will be redesigned as part of the deal.
The meeting was contentious.
About 50 people spoke during the public hearing, with roughly 36 against the project and 14 in favor, the Charlotte Ledger reported. Several members of the public were escorted out of the chamber by police after shouting during council remarks.
Voting yes were Graham, Mayo, Dimple Ajmera, Dante Anderson, Ed Driggs, Mayor Pro Tem James Mitchell and Kimberly Owens. Voting no were Renee Johnson, J.D. Mazuera Arias, Victoria Watlington and LaWana Mayfield.
The reversal also lets Charlotte avoid repaying the state for nearly $69.6 million NCDOT spent on the project from November 2018 through Aug. 31. State budget legislation approved in July 2026 allows NCDOT to recover those costs from cities that pulled support. The deadline to reinstate support is Oct. 5.
Nearly 160,000 vehicles travel the I-77 South corridor each day, according to a baseline report from the Charlotte city manager's office. The stretch averages about six crashes per day, nearly 2.8 times the statewide average.
The project has been in development since 2014. Statesville, Monroe and Cornelius had already voted to reinstate support before Charlotte's vote. Davidson was expected to vote Tuesday, Sept. 22.
CRTPO's Wednesday, Sept. 23, meeting is the next decisive step for the project. The Oct. 5 state deadline to reinstate support or face repayment looms over any municipality that has not yet voted.
