North Carolina Construction News staff writer
The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has advanced the Interstate 77 South Express Lanes project in Mecklenburg County following a yearlong community engagement effort that resulted in selection of what officials describe as the least impactful design alternative.
However, responding to protestors at Monday’s meeting, Charlotte City Council agreed to request a 60-day pause on the project. If approved next week, Charlotte’s representative will be directed to raise the issue at a regional transportation board. The City Council’s transportation committee will also discuss the issue next week.
While they don’t have the power to stop construction, city leaders are hoping their political influence will make a difference.
“The message is simple: We’ve got to slow this down,” said District 5 councilman J.D. Mazuera Arias said at the meeting.
ACS Group, through its companies ACS Infra and FlatironDragados, has been shortlisted to advance in the procurement process as part of the Carolina Connectors consortium. The team includes Meridiam and Kiewit Development Company.
The $3.2 billion project would add managed express lanes along 11 miles of Interstate 77 from the South Carolina state line to I-277/N.C. 16, also known as the Brookshire Freeway.
After nearly 30 small-group meetings and two formal public meetings that reached about 2,000 residents, NCDOT said public feedback showed minimizing neighborhood and environmental impacts were top priorities.
The shortlisted team, Carolina Connectors, brings together local, national, and global infrastructure leaders with deep experience in delivering large-scale transportation projects through public-private partnerships (P3). The ACS Infra-led developer and equity sponsor includes partners Meridiam and US-based Kiewit.
The broader design team includes Kiewit Engineering as lead design engineer, as well as Infrastructure Consulting & Engineering and Wetherill Engineering, both Carolinas-based firms, and Arcadis, strengthening the team’s regional expertise, technical depth, and ability to deliver complex managed lanes and tolling infrastructure.
“NCDOT’s priority is to deliver transportation improvements in partnership with the region that respect the history of the neighborhoods along this project corridor,” Division 10 Engineer Felix Obregon said in a statement. “Community feedback has been critical in shaping this project and the elevated design option balances regional mobility needs with meaningful reductions in neighborhood and environmental impacts.”
Under the selected alternative, express lanes in the uptown area would be constructed above or alongside the existing interstate. NCDOT said the elevated design significantly reduces property impacts in the McCrorey Heights and Wesley Heights neighborhoods, minimizes effects on Frazier Park and avoids impacts to Pinewood Cemetery.
The department said it also reviewed requests to relocate I-77 underground in a tunnel, comparing the concept to major projects such as Big Dig in Boston and the Alaskan Way Viaduct project in Seattle. Officials said tunneling I-77 would cost billions of dollars per mile — roughly 10 to 20 times NCDOT’s annual capital budget — and would require more than $50 million annually in maintenance costs.
Interstate 77 is one of the most heavily traveled north-south corridors in the Southeast, providing direct access to uptown Charlotte and serving as a key commuter and freight route across central and western North Carolina. Travel times along the 11-mile stretch can approach an hour during peak periods.
The project would add two express lanes in each direction, along with interchange improvements and new direct connectors, aimed at reducing congestion and providing more predictable travel times for motorists, transit services and high-occupancy vehicles.