CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — North Carolina Department of Transportation leaders met with Mecklenburg County commissioners for a budget public policy meeting Tuesday afternoon to talk about widening the southern section of Interstate 77 and adding toll lanes in both directions to the South Carolina line.
The area of I-77 is known for traffic backups, but NCDOT says crash rates for the section of I-77 are two and a half times higher than the state average.
I-77 is a major gateway around Charlotte.
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“Anywhere I go, generally I’m hopping on 77,” said Patrick Sharp, a commercial and HOA accounts manager with Team Pest USA.
Sharp says the interstate can be a pest, and he should know.
He fights the insect-kind every day as he travels on I-77 for work.
“You’re always going to expect some traffic on 77, that’s just kind of how I go about my day,” said Sharp.
For years, the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization has been trying to figure out how to relieve congestion on the southern section of I-77.