A draft amendment floating around the state legislature could send Charlotte and several neighboring towns a multimillion-dollar tab for the now-canceled I-77 South toll-lane project. The proposal, shared by Republican state Sen. Vickie Sawyer, would seek to claw back money already poured into design and planning and could slow or sideline new transportation work in the region while the state recoups its costs.
According to The Charlotte Observer, Sawyer’s language appears as an amendment tacked onto an otherwise unrelated DOT bill and would block the N.C. Department of Transportation from removing the I-77 project from the State Transportation Improvement Program before Jan. 1, 2027. The Observer notes that Sawyer’s name is at the top of the draft, which follows votes this spring by both the Charlotte City Council and the regional planning board to rescind their backing for the toll-lane plan.
Local public-radio reporting says the draft would let NCDOT try to recover an estimated $60 million already spent on preliminary engineering, environmental work and consultant fees, and it would bar local governments from using the newly approved Mecklenburg transportation sales tax to repay the state, according to WFAE. That reporting also says the amendment would allow the state to withhold future highway aid and to suspend new priority projects in the region until any repayment is satisfied. In other words, the state could hold other road work hostage until the bill is paid.
How repayment would be calculated
The draft ties each city or town’s share of repayment to its weighted vote on the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization. That setup means Charlotte, which holds roughly 41 percent of the CRTPO vote, would likely carry the largest slice of the bill, The Charlotte Observer reports. The formula would also spread potential liability to other municipalities that backed the decision to pull support for the project, including suburban governments now bristling at the idea of paying for what they argue were NCDOT-driven decisions.
State money at stake
State documents show NCDOT had set aside about $700 million for the I-77 South corridor: roughly $600 million in statewide mobility funds plus a $100 million bonus allocation for Mecklenburg County, according to N.C. Department of Transportation materials. Those same NCDOT handouts describe the project as an 11-mile, multi-billion-dollar express-lane effort aimed at easing congestion and improving safety on one of the region’s heaviest-traveled stretches of interstate. Local coverage by WBTV notes that if the project is ultimately removed from the transportation plan, the earmarked money could be shifted to other parts of the state.
Next steps and reaction
For now, Sawyer’s amendment is still just a draft. It would need to be formally attached to a bill, move through the General Assembly and clear a final vote before any of these repayment threats turn real. City officials say they are still poring over the language, and the governor’s office told WFAE it will “thoroughly review any legislation that comes to the governor’s desk.” Local elected leaders are already debating whether the possibility of a massive repayment will force a rethink of their recent votes or simply crank up the political standoff with Raleigh.
What started as a local push to stop a controversial widening of I-77 has morphed into a statewide test of who pays when a big-ticket project gets unwound. Lawmakers in Raleigh will ultimately decide whether this amendment becomes law and whether Charlotte and its neighbors receive an actual invoice or just another round of high-stakes political pressure.
