By Dave Vieser. Feb. 15. Even as the Widen I-77 anti-toll group takes the matter to court, the Lake Norman Transportation Commission (LNTC) has unveiled the first draft list of projects which could receive 100 percent funding from bonus allocation funds related to toll lanes. The list includes five projects in Cornelius totaling $42.7 million.
The bonus allocation is a one-time pot of money being made available by the state to local jurisdictions which adjoin the toll lane project. LNTC member Bill Coxe, Huntersville’s transportation director, noted that officials from all across the state will be watching “very carefully” to see if this funding process works.
“This list is a technical analysis, part of a process never tried before in the state” Coxe said at the commission’s Feb. 11 meeting. “If it doesn’t work out, rest assured the state will be only to glad to take the bonus allocation money back.”
The draft list will be forwarded to the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization (CRTPO) this month, and a final list is expected to be adopted by CRPTO in March. The timetable is very tight, and all the funding must be obligated within a five year period. The recommended projects for Cornelius and the funding requested are:
- US 21 and Catawba Avenue Roundabout: $6.7 million
- US 21 widening Northcross Center Court to Westmoreland: $23 million
- NC 115 and Potts Street-intersection improvements: $6 million
- Northcross Drive extension: $2 million
- Torrence Chapel Road/W. Catawba Ave. intersection improvements: $5 million
