Lake Norman Transportation Commission will host a public meeting with NCDOT officials and experts  Wednesday to help elected officials and citizens learn more about plans for using a public-private partnership to build and manage the planned I-77 widening project. Read the full story

Local officials and opponents of toll lanes on I-77 are continuing to battle it out this week over the N.C. DOT’s plans for widening the congested highway. A public forum on Friday at the Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce will include remarks by the leader of the anti-toll group Widen I-77 and the director of the Lake Norman Transportation Commission, which previously has endorsed the DOT plan.

Meanwhile, a group claiming to represent more than 60 property owners in the Northcross area, off I-77 Exit 25, issued a statement condemning the plan last week. Later, one of its leaders acknowledged that the statement only represented the views of the group’s five-person board, not individual members.

Also this week, state officials have posted a new website at http://fix77now.blogspot.com/ offering background information and documents about the I-77 HOT lanes project. Read the full story

Lake Norman-area residents and elected officials will have chance to share their views on transportation and growth during a pair of regional meetings next week in Mooresville. On Tuesday, the 14-county CONNECT Our Future” consortium will host an open house to discuss growth in the coming decades. Then on Thursday, the Lake Norman Regional Transportation Commission invites elected and appointed officials as well as residents to a transportation summit, looking at the policy effects of growth on the transportation system. Read the full story

The Lake Norman Transportation Commission (LNTC) last week appointed Cornelius Commissioner Chuck Travis as the commission’s new chairman. He replaces Brian Jenest, a Davidson commissioner and planner who had chaired the group for three years. Read the full story

Carroll Gray told members of the Lake Norman Transportation Commission Wednesday night he plans to step down as executive director at year’s end. The 71-year-old Cornelius resident helped launch and lead the regional lobbying group over the past three years. He told DavidsonNews.net he has mixed emotions about the decision, “but I think it’s time to move on.” Read the full story

Lake Norman Transportation Commission Executive Director Carroll Gray told the Cornelius Town Board Monday night a financial plan should be completed by year’s end for the Red Line, the proposed 25-mile commuter rail line from Charlotte to Mooresville. If adopted by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, “then the question will be how soon can it be started,” he said. Read more on CorneliusNews.net.

The Lake Norman Transportation Commission will hold its monthly meeting on Wednesday Jan. 12, at 6:30 p.m. at Cornelius Town Hall in Room 204.  The agenda includes a review of a regional transportation planning study by Centralina Council of Governments, with Bill Duston. Read the full story

Lake Norman Transportation Commission holds its monthly meeting Wednesday, Feb. 10, at 6:30 p.m. at Mooresville Town Hall, 413 N. Main St., Mooresville. The agenda includes a review of the final report of the recent Urban Land Institute panel. Mayors of Davidson, Mooresville, Cornelius and Huntersville are also invited. www.lakenormantrans.org