anti-toll
Opinion: Bankruptcy just part of the plan
OPINION. By Nils Lucander. What does it mean to North Carolina taxpayers when Cintra (Ferrovial) bankrupts one of its subsidiaries elsewhere? When Cintra’s various LLCs—like the ones in Texas, Indiana, Spain, Virginia and North Carolina—file bankruptcy on these highway projects, it is not due to some unforeseen, unusual, tragic circumstances that we might empathize with […]
Jeter’s I-77 summit will bring top decision-makers together soon
UPDATED 6:40 pm Nov. 9. NC Rep. Charles Jeter will convene an I-77 summit within the next 10 business days to hash out ways to fix the controversial toll plan. The divisive issue led to resounding defeats on Election Day to officials like Mayor Jill Swain and Commissioner Sarah McAulay in Huntersville. Jeter said that “in direct […]
Cintra hints of possible legal action against critic of toll plan
By Dave Yochum. The fight against the plan to widen I-77 with the help of a company whose roots are in Spain continues to escalate, with a lawsuit, another bill in Raleigh and even the threat of legal action against someone who has spoken out against I-77 Mobility partners, the new entity that will build the […]
LKN Chamber meeting to discuss toll plan
Aug. 7. The Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce will hold business briefings on I-77 tolls on two consecutive Tuesdays, Aug. 11 and Aug. 18, from 6:30 pm to 8 pm at The Galway Hooker in Kenton Place. Business owners and managers as well as the public are invited. Mecklenburg County Board Commissioner Jim Puckett and […]
OPINION: Private toll lanes on I77 are wrong for business
OPINION. By Mike Russell. We use I-77 through Lake Norman as a local road. When it was built 40 years ago that may not have been the original intent, but with part of US 21 under Lake Norman and NC 115 constricted through downtown Davidson, it is an inescapable reality. For local businesses I-77 is […]
Point counterpoint: I-77 toll lanes
By Kurt Naas. Now that local governments and businesses have lined up against the I-77 toll lanes, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has been offering up three more rationales why they must move forward with this project. First, we’ve been told it’s “tolls or nothing for 20 years.” That may have been true in […]
Lettter to the Editor
OPINION. Robert Poole of the Reason Foundation introduced California and the United States to his concept of managed lanes as a way to address congestion in urban centers like Los Angeles. The links (after signature block) to LA Times articles from 2013 and 2015 offer an update on how that is progressing. If you read […]
Memo to LKN Chamber: ‘NCDOT is simply delivering the project requested by local authorities’
In advance of the Lake Norman Chamber’s board meeting, the NCDOT Undersecretary Nick Tennyson outlined some of the ramifications of cancelling the $650 million contract with I-77 Mobility/Cintra/Ferrovial and opting for a general-purpose lanes project instead. As a former chamber [of commerce] executive, I know that your organization has a wide range of business and […]
LKN Chamber will come out against toll lanes
June 23. By Dave Yochum. The Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce will officially come out against the plan to widen I-77 with toll lanes and a 50-year contract with a company whose roots are in Spain. The chamber’s resolution, passed by its board of directors last night, requests that the contract with I-77 Mobility Partners be […]
Buses will take business leaders to Raleigh to fight tolls June 30
June 17. By Dave Yochum. NC Sen. Jeff Tarte says he will meet with Lake Norman business owners June 30 in Raleigh as part of the ongoing battle to fight NCDOT plans to improve I-77 between Charlotte and Mooresville with toll lanes. He has reserved the press room in the State Capitol at noon on […]
