McCrorey Heights residents weigh I-77 express lane plans as NCDOT promises fewer neighborhood impacts this time

A historic Charlotte neighborhood faces another round of highway change

Residents of McCrorey Heights, a historically Black neighborhood near Uptown Charlotte, are raising concerns about the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s long-planned expansion of Interstate 77, fearing a repeat of past disruptions tied to highway construction.

Neighborhood association president Sean Langley has pointed to the area’s legacy of civic leadership and civil rights activity, while describing a long-running pattern in which major road projects have pressed closer to the community over time.

What the current proposal would build, and why it matters

The state’s current concept centers on adding managed, tolled express lanes along I-77 between the South Carolina state line and the Uptown area. Transportation officials describe the corridor as heavily used, with about 160,000 vehicles per day, and say travel times can be unreliable depending on direction and time of day.

Project representatives have characterized the undertaking as unusually complex and expensive, citing tight right-of-way conditions through some of Charlotte’s oldest neighborhoods and near sensitive sites. The latest design approach relies on elevated express lanes rather than widening the highway at ground level.

• Stated purpose: reduce congestion and provide more reliable travel times on a key north-south route.
• Design direction: elevated lanes intended to reduce property and community impacts compared with at-grade widening.
• Geographic reach: a continuous expansion concept spanning southern Mecklenburg County toward Uptown.

Concerns shaped by earlier highway construction and displacement

McCrorey Heights residents point to the neighborhood’s experience during the original construction of I-77 in the 1960s, when the interstate cut through historically Black communities. A later project, the Brookshire Freeway, is described by community members as another major disruption; in that earlier phase, 12 homes were taken through eminent domain for highway construction.

Against that backdrop, some residents say assurances about minimal impacts are difficult to accept, particularly while design work remains unfinished.

Residents say the impacts they fear extend beyond property acquisition, including noise, air pollution and a further physical separation from the rest of the city.

NCDOT’s commitments, toll access details, and what remains unresolved

Transportation officials have said the elevated-lane approach is intended to reduce impacts to nearby communities, including Wesley Heights and Biddleville, and to avoid impacts to Pinewood Cemetery. Officials have also said that, at the current stage, the project would not require taking homes in McCrorey Heights through eminent domain, while emphasizing that final design decisions are still pending.

On tolling, officials have indicated the express lanes would include free access for public transit buses, vehicles with three or more occupants and some low-income residents. They have also described plans for additional community engagement, including office hours and ongoing discussions about community benefits, with greenway connections cited as one potential area of mitigation.

Funding and timeline

The project’s overall cost has been described as $3.2 billion, with $600 million committed in state dollars and additional funding anticipated through a private-sector partner arrangement to help finance and manage the express lanes. Construction has been projected to begin in the early 2030s.