Regional group also forms an I-77 task force

Lake Norman Transportation Commission plans a pair of meetings in the coming weeks to look at regional transportation planning and prospects for improvements on I-77.

The group, which includes representatives from Davidson, Mooresville, Cornelius and Huntersville, was formed about 7 months ago. So far, it has studied and issued resolutions in favor of improvements on N.C. 73 in Huntersville and supporting roadwork promised by the developer of the Augustalee mixed-use project in Cornelius.

“I-77 is a logical next issue for us,” Carroll Gray, executive director of the commission, said Friday.

The commission will hold its monthly meeting Tuesday, Aug. 18. Rob Cook, director of the Mecklenburg-Union Metropolitan Planning Organization (MUMPO), and Bjorn Hansen, director of Lake Norman Regional Planning Organization, will present an update on the region’s Long Range Transportation Plan. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at Cornelius Town Hall.

Meanwhile, Mr.  Gray says the commission has formed an I-77 Task Force “whose purpose is to raise the awareness and urge the development of a new strategy to improve this vital corridor.”

Mitch Abraham, a Mooresville town commissioner, is chairing the task force, which will meet Tuesday, Sept. 8, at noon at Cornelius Town Hall.

Mr. Gray has invited the two North Carolina Department of Transportation representatives serving the Lake Norman Area, Judge Bob Collier in District 12 and John Collett in District 10, as well as DOT Division Engineers Mike Holder and Barry Moose to the meeting. They will discuss the history and future of state and local planning for I-77.

Mr. Gray said the commission wants to push for more attention to the problems of I-77 traffic and the need for improvements. Estimates put the cost of dealing with congestion on I-77 through north Mecklenburg and south Iredell at hundreds of millions of dollars.

Yet, Mr. Gray said, I-77 is barely mentioned in the region’s Long Range Transportation Plan, which prioritizes projects for funding.

“If you look at the Long Range Transportation Plan, there are a few mentions of I-77 related projects,” he said. Some are related to work on our near exits, like the No. 4 ranked project to improve Exit 28 in Cornelius. But the plan does not address widening or other work that would deal with congestion.

“So in effect (the plan) does not really deal with I-77 and we find that unacceptable,” Mr. Gray said.

He said the commission hopes to ask state officials, “Why isn’t I-77 dealt with in a more direct way?”

Updated Friday, Aug. 14, 2009, 4:40 p.m.