As debate over I-77 toll lanes heats up, Mecklenburg County will unveil an environmental impact report, highlighting concerns over park losses and air quality.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As debate over the proposed I-77 South toll lanes continues to intensify, Mecklenburg County is set to put hard numbers on what the expansion could cost the environment.
County staff will present a detailed environmental impact assessment to the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners Environmental Stewardship Committee on March 10 at 12:30 p.m. in Room 280 of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center. The meeting is open to the public.
Experts from Mecklenburg’s Park and Recreation, Storm Water Services and the Air Quality Division will walk commissioners through expected impacts to parks, greenways, streams and public health along the proposed highway corridor.
Among the most striking concerns: the possible elimination of Wilmore Park entirely under current design options, and the potential loss of tennis courts, basketball courts and a dog park at Frazier Park. The presentation also flags impacts to Irwin Creek Greenway and three other greenway corridors, the relocation of portions of Irwin Creek, and disturbance to wetlands and four local streams. All told, 11 Mecklenburg County parks sit along the proposed corridor.
On the public health front, county staff will present evidence that fine particle pollution levels run 19% higher near major roadways, a finding with serious implications for residents living close to the expanded highway.
The meeting adds a new layer to a debate that has grown increasingly contentious in recent months.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation announced its preferred elevated design for the project after a yearlong community engagement effort that reached nearly 2,000 people, saying the plan would construct express lanes over the existing interstate or alongside it, reducing property impacts to McCrorey Heights and Wesley Heights neighborhoods.
But critics weren’t satisfied. Residents pushed back at town halls, with some arguing that building upward doesn’t erase the impact on families and communities along the corridor.
Opposition has grown over the project’s potential effects on historically Black communities in west Charlotte, with several City Council members calling for a pause and greater transparency before moving forward.
The Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg also moved to file a temporary restraining order against NCDOT, seeking to ensure any unresolved legal or community concerns could be heard before irreversible decisions are made.
The project would widen roughly 11 miles of I-77 with two express lanes in each direction from Uptown to the South Carolina state line, which officials describe as the most expensive transportation project in state history, with a price tag exceeding $3.7 billion. NCDOT has said the state can contribute $600 million, with a private developer expected to cover the rest.
NCDOT has since extended its request-for-proposals timeline until late June, after pushback from residents and local leaders.
Tuesday’s county presentation is expected to include a discussion of regulatory requirements tied to environmental protection, floodplain management and mitigation, giving commissioners a fuller picture of what compliance could require before any shovels hit the ground.