A round trip to Uptown Charlotte shouldn’t cost $134. Yet that’s exactly what some drivers are being charged to use I-77’s toll lanes—lanes built through public inconvenience, handed to a private company, and now priced out of reach for working families.

This isn’t just highway robbery—it’s a failure of public trust. North Carolina entered into a long-term contract with a foreign-owned company, Cintra, that now controls toll pricing with little transparency. Drivers are reporting sky-high bills, dynamic pricing that changes minute to minute, and no clear way to opt out without sitting in hours of traffic. Worst of all, the contract reportedly blocks the state from adding free lanes nearby—effectively locking in congestion to drive more toll revenue.

Local residents never voted for this. Many were blindsided when tolls were rolled out. The public was told this would ease traffic, but the free lanes remain jammed while toll lanes sit empty—priced for the few, not the many. Small businesses, hospital visitors, and daily commuters are all paying the price, while profits flow overseas.

We’re calling on Josh Stein, the NCDOT, and state lawmakers to act now. North Carolinians deserve fair, transparent, and publicly accountable transportation—not a system where families are punished for going to work, school, or the doctor.

This is our highway. It should serve the public, not exploit it.