FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 17, 2026
MEDIA CONTACT
Andrew Whelan, CleanAIRE NC, (919) 229-9293, [email protected]
Charlotte, N.C. — CleanAIRE NC is calling on the Charlotte City Council to reject the I-77 South Express Lanes expansion and instead pursue transportation solutions that do not further burden historically Black communities along the I-77 corridor.
For generations, highway construction has divided Charlotte’s West End. The I-77 expansion threatens to extend that legacy by taking additional land and destroying homes and businesses in communities that have carried the brunt of past transportation decisions. Displaced families will not receive neither equitable compensation nor consideration for where they can go given home affordability issues across Charlotte. The project also raises affordability concerns for low- to moderate-income residents by proposing two new tolled express lanes in each direction.
Beyond physical displacement for the families that will lose their homes and unaffordable tolls, the project poses serious public health risks. Expanding a major interstate through established neighborhoods would expose nearby families to prolonged construction activity, increased vehicle traffic, and higher levels of harmful air pollutants such as fine particulate matter and volatile organic compounds.
“Adding highway lanes is an outdated approach that fails to solve traffic congestion while harming public health and actively displacing families from their homes,” said Jeffrey Robbins, Executive Director of CleanAIRE NC. “Decades of transportation data, including I-77’s own expansion in the 1990s, prove that extra capacity simply triggers further increases in traffic. More lanes lead to more driving, eventually returning us to gridlock while permanently degrading neighborhood air quality and creating inequitable economic impacts through high-priced tolls.”
CleanAIRE NC urges city leaders to stand strong in the face of financial threats from state lawmakers, who have passed provisions that could force Charlotte-area municipalities to pay back tens of millions of dollars in state planning costs if they ultimately reject the toll expansion. Coercing local governments into accepting unwanted highway pollution is an unacceptable state overreach that undermines communities’ decision-making.
CleanAIRE NC also cautions against relying on non-binding promises of future community investments or benefits to justify project approval.
“Vague promises are not a substitute for protecting community health in the first place,” added Robbins. “Charlotte residents should not be asked to accept higher asthma rates and community dislocation in exchange for promises that may never materialize. If community protections are truly essential to the project, they must be concrete, legally enforceable, and fully secured before the project moves forward.”
CleanAIRE NC urges the Charlotte City Council to reject the proposed I-77 toll lane expansion and prioritize equitable transportation investments that improve regional transit without sacrificing the health and homes of Charlotte communities.
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CleanAIRE NC is a statewide nonprofit organization advocating for the health of all North Carolinians by pursuing equitable and collaborative solutions that address climate change and air pollution.
