A version of the following article appeared in the Wednesday, May 27, 2026, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C.
Need to subscribe — or upgrade your Ledger e-newsletter subscription? Details here.
Is backlash ahead from the General Assembly? Some local GOP officials raise prospect of payback from Raleigh
Legislators in Raleigh might weigh in following Charlotte’s decision to halt the I-77 toll lanes, local GOP officials say. (Photo: Shutterstock)
by Tony Mecia
During last week’s debate over whether to kill the I-77 toll lane project, the mayor of the small Union County town of Mineral Springs offered a warning.
Mayor Rick Becker conceded that the state transportation department’s preliminary designs to widen the congested interstate through neighborhoods near uptown Charlotte were “absolutely atrocious.”
But he said he worried that a vote by the Charlotte area’s regional planning board to revoke support for the project could set off an unpredictable chain of events — including angering North Carolina’s Republican-controlled General Assembly, which has sweeping powers to impose its will on local governments.
“I cannot, in good conscience, vote to turn this over to the General Assembly not knowing what could happen,” Becker said. “… Where is this going to go? Because I think it’s really a risky move. … It's a very dangerous world to poke that bear.”
With plans to widen I-77 now dead, local Republicans warn that the move could agitate the General Assembly, which has a history of trying to rein in Charlotte when it perceives the city has made poor decisions.
One point that seems likely to pique legislators’ interest, local officials say, is that the N.C. Department of Transportation spent $60M in planning for the project since the regional planning board signed off on it in 2014. The state will now have nothing to show for that money.
Subscribe to The Charlotte Ledger's paid version to read the rest.
Become a paying member of The Charlotte Ledger to gain access to this post and other subscriber-only articles. (Paying Ledger members: Log in under "sign in" at the top of this page — no password required)
Upgrade