A leader in the influential Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg said he is disillusioned that the Charlotte City Council hasn’t moved to stop the construction of the toll lanes on Interstate 77 in south Charlotte, a sign the issue remains potent.
Raki McGregor, who chairs the BPC’s transportation committee, said the issue could be a factor when the organization makes endorsements ahead of next year’s city elections.
Almost all elections in Charlotte are decided in the Democratic primary, where half of the voters are African American.
Because of that, the BPC endorsement is considered critical, and it’s likely to take on extra significance in 2027. That’s when the Charlotte mayor's seat is expected to be open.
McGregor said he is upset that almost all City Council members — and potential mayoral candidates — have been noncommittal on stopping the I-77 expansion.
“Where is the leadership? Where is the consistency of that leadership?” McGregor said during an interview with WFAE.
Ten of 11 council members have said they have significant concerns about the project. But outside of council member Renee Johnson, McGregor said he has yet to see any action. He said that will likely influence 2027 endorsements, although he noted that all BPC members vote on whom to back in elections.
“We’re looking to see where the leadership is,” he said. “Where is the decisive leadership? What I can say is that it has been very difficult to follow.”
McGregor does not usually get involved with City Council politics. He is a close supporter of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Crystal Hill, and has worked to elect School Board members who support her.
It’s expected that Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles will not run for a sixth term in 2027. Charlotte City Council members who could run to succeed her include Malcolm Graham, James Mitchell, Dante Anderson, Victoria Watlington and Dimple Ajmera.
All have said they are concerned about the impact on residents. But none have pushed publicly for a vote to require the North Carolina Department of Transportation to significantly modify the plan.
The DOT plans to build two express toll lanes in each direction from uptown to the South Carolina line. The 11-mile, $3.2 billion project would connect privately managed toll lanes in north Mecklenburg and newly opened, state-operated toll lanes on I-485 in south Charlotte.
But the I-77 plan has faced intense resistance from center city neighborhoods, who say their quality of life will be harmed by the larger highway.
The DOT agreed in February to delay issuing a request for proposals for the toll lanes until June to get more public feedback. It did that in part in response to a BPC lawsuit filed in February to stop the project.
The state said it will ask potential contractors to look for creative solutions to minimize the impacts on historically Black neighborhoods nearby. But the DOT did not scale back the scope of the project, and it will be difficult for any road builder to further minimize the footprint of the highway.
McGregor said he’s not just worried about the impact on residents, but about the fairness and effectiveness of toll lanes in general.
The city of Charlotte decided to move forward with toll lanes nearly 20 years ago.
“Why are we looking at toll lane data that was done in 2007 to determine whether or not we should have these toll lanes?” he said. “And we’re dictating that on what we do moving forward to the next 50 to 100 years, I don’t think that’s a wise decision period.”
Groups like the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance support the plan to build the toll lanes. They say it’s the quickest and only guaranteed way to provide an alternative to the traffic that nearly always grips that stretch.
The city of Charlotte holds more than 40% of the weighted vote on the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization, which is the key decision-making body.
Though council members have significant power, they have been unwilling so far to push for a longer delay to consider more options.
McGregor said toll lanes on I-77 in north Mecklenburg have allowed some people to escape traffic, if they are willing to pay $20 or $30 for a one-way trip at rush hour. But the free lanes are still gridlocked.
“Why is it that we have chosen toll lanes when toll lanes have not produced what we desire, which is a reduction in congestion?” he said.
In Gaston County, I-85 is being widened with one additional lane in each direction for 10 miles at a cost of $1.5 billion, with no toll lanes.
To do that, the DOT broke that project into three segments, allowing I-85 to draw from a statewide pool of money three times.
For I-77, the DOT plans to tap that money only once and have tolls pay the rest.
McGregor said the Charlotte City Council and CRTPO should study the Gaston model.
“How can Gaston break this into three projects and get three times the money and we only get one pull of the funding?” he asked.
The Charlotte City Council and the CRTPO never considered the Gaston model.
