UPTOWN — Amid ongoing controversy over proposed changes to the I-77 corridor, Charlotte City Council says it is working with NCDOT to gather community input on which multi-billion-dollar private equity firm residents would most prefer to be systematically exploited by over the next thirty years.
The project, a $3.2 billion “double-decker” toll expansion through Uptown and the I-77 South corridor, has entered its “Community Engagement” phase—a three-month period designed to let residents register feedback ahead of the state’s formal Request for Proposals (RFP) process in June.
At the newly opened Community Engagement Center on W. Morehead Street, officials unveiled what they described as a ballot allowing residents to weigh in on four global consortiums under consideration: 77SouthLink (Cintra/Ferrovial), Carolina Connectors, Queen City Infrastructure Partners, I-77 Cross-State Connectors.
The four finalists offer slight variations in financing structure and construction timelines, but all remain unified in their core mission: ensuring that a trip from Pineville to Uptown costs as much as a checked bag on a budget airline.
NCDOT spent a significant portion of the briefing highlighting what it described as a “major preservation win”: a revised design that saves exactly six houses from demolition.
“Usually, we just flatten everything,” Thorne said. “But we’ve decided to spare those six families so they can have front-row seats to a two-story concrete wall blocking the sun for the rest of their lives. It’s about balance.”
“They told us to come look at the plans,” said Wilmore homeowner Sarah Jenkins. “The display was just a diagram of money being vacuumed out of South End and redirected into a toll lane. It was very detailed.”
Thorne made it clear that while the community’s input on which firm takes their money is “valued,” the state’s patience is not infinite.
“No matter what happens, we’re committed to making sure residents have the freedom to choose which conglomerate ultimately fucks over their lives.”
