widen I-77
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 […]
Toll resolution on deck tonight at Davidson Town Hall
June 9. Tonight’s Davidson Town Board meeting may be another litmus test in the battle to defund the $650 million plan to widen I-77 between Lake Norman and Charlotte with the help of toll lanes and a company from Spain. Town Commissioner James Fuller is expected to propose a resolution that backs NC Sen. Jeff […]
I-77 toll controversy highlights worries about clout in Raleigh
By Dave Vieser. With Pat McCrory’s election in 2012 and Republicans holding a majority in the state legislature, things seemed to be looking up for Lake Norman. With a strong GOP lineup came expectations of increased help from Raleigh for critical infrastructure needs, especially in the transportation spectrum. Two years later, town boards around Lake Norman, […]
