Traffic
Moody’s warned against Cintra finances in Texas in 2013
Mar. 3. By Dave Yochum. As expected, a long-troubled Cintra road project in Austin, Texas, has filed for bankruptcy protection because it is unable to make full payment on its senior debt. SH 130 Concession Co. said in its bankruptcy filing that “the lingering effects of the recession” contributed to the filing. The managed lanes […]
NCDOT seeks feedback on 50-year Cintra contract
Feb. 19. By Dave Vieser. It looks like the NCDOT is suddenly paying attention to strenuous objections from the municipalities and governments that will be directly affected by the $650 million plan to widen I-77 with toll lanes between Charlotte and Lake Norman. In letters sent Feb. 17 to all the members of the Charlotte Regional Transportation […]
Huntersville exits LKN Transportation Commission
Feb. 17. By Dave Vieser. The Huntersville Town Board has voted to withdraw from the Lake Norman Regional Transportation Commission, leaving the future of the six-year old LNTC in limbo. The 4-2 decision was opposed by Commissioner Melinda Bales, who also chairs the LNTC. The LNTC, headed up by former Mooresville Mayor Bill Thunberg, has been […]
Mooresville mayor gets on board with I-77 Business Plan
Feb. 9. By Dave Yochum. If you think the I-77 battle is over, you’re wrong. It has expanded and moved into Iredell County. Mooresville Mayor Miles Atkins attended a special business briefing Monday held by two anti-toll groups: The I-77 Business Plan and WidenI-77.org, the original anti-toll group. It’s a coup for the anti-toll team, which was stung […]
I-77 fight widens as Cooper issues demand to Cintra
By Dave Vieser. Cintra and the NCDOT might have won a couple of battles in January—the WidenI-77 lawsuit and the Charlotte City Council vote—but the war seems to be escalating in Lake Norman, with what amounts to freedom fighters among citizens and business leaders. Indeed, WidenI-77 founder Kurt Naas, a Cornelius resident, broke the news that […]
Cintra’s parent firm built Canadian bridge which buckled
Jan. 25. By Dave Vieser. A newly constructed two-lane bridge in northern Ontario, Canada, which split apart on January 10, was designed and built, in part, by Ferrovial, which owns Cintra, the company building the I-77 toll lanes. The damage to the Nipigon River Bridge, which carries traffic using the Trans Canadian Highway, was extensive […]
CRTPO vote galvanized LKN opposition to tolls
Jan. 22. You might call it Pyrrhic victory, one that causes as much harm to the winner as it does to those who appear to have been defeated. The Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization did just as expected last night, voting 50-12, based on a weighted voting system, to approve the concept of managed lanes […]
Bradford, Tarte: Tolls hurting McCrory; chamber honors anti-toll forces
Jan. 15. By Dave Vieser. Two prominent state Republican legislators from Cornelius said that anger over Gov. Pat McCrory handling of the I-77 toll lane issue could impact his re-election this fall. NC Sen. Jeff Tarte and NC Rep. John Bradford made their comments at Business Today’s Newsmakers Breakfast at The Peninsula Club on Thursday. And, in […]
I-77 fight fueled by business
ANALYSIS. By Dave Yochum. A groundswell of public opinion culminating in a $9,600 anti-toll advertisement in the Charlotte Observer, is pitting Lake Norman business and political leadership against forces in Charlotte. “Our elected leadership in Charlotte still holds the trump cards in a high stakes game which has dire consequences for the quality of life and […]
Charlotte City Council, with some members agonizing, punts
Jan. 11. By Dave Yochum. Councilwoman Vi Lyles has been directed to vote for the current I-77 toll plan and a managed lane strategy when the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization expresses its sentiments on the $650 million project at its Jan. 20 meeting. The Charlotte City Council, which controls 46 percent of the CRTPO weighted vote, went 7-4 to […]
