House Votes To Cancel I-77 Toll Contract; Senate Fate Uncertain

The state House on Thursday overwhelmingly passed a bill that would put the brakes on the Interstate 77 high-occupancy or toll lanes project in Mecklenburg and Iredell counties.

Rep. Charles Jeter, R-Mecklenburg, who sponsored House Bill 954, said the project cancels the project “under the premise of cause.”

“It is my belief and some others’ belief that they didn’t materially disclose some potential and pending litigation,” Jeter said, referring to Cintra, the Spain-based company that the Department of Transportation contracted with to build the 26-mile managed lane project.

The “cause” premise is significant, because if a court rules that there was no cause for canceling the contract, the state could be on the hook for an estimated $250 million in penalties. On Wednesday, Transportation Secretary Nick Tennyson said proving the “cause” premise could be difficult since a DOT inspector general had already concluded that no significant omissions in document submission occurred.

Rep. John Torbett, R-Gaston, who co-chairs the House Transportation Committee, said the state was getting a good deal with the project. If the project continues, motorists could be using the highway by 2018, he said. If it’s canceled and the DOT builds the highway without tolls, it would take a lot longer given the difficulty in finding money for such an expensive project, he added.

“There’ll be orange barrels up and down I-77 for about 15 years,” Torbett said.

Motorists using the proposed HOT lanes would be required to pay a toll unless at least three people are in their vehicle. The plan calls for two HOT lanes to be built in both directions alongside two standard untolled lanes from the Berkshire Freeway in Charlotte to the N.C. 150 interchange in Iredell County.

The bill passed the House by an 81-27 vote. It faces a less-than-certain fate in the Senate. In April, before the short session began, Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, said he had not seen any information leading him to believe that stopping the project was the right thing to do.

“The I-77 toll lanes issue has been around for a while,” Berger said during the April press conference. “I don’t see any need for any significant change.”