HOT Lanes on I-77What we don’t know…

Sept 9, 2014

Overview

Project Scope Toll Rates Congestion Ingress/Egress Confidential Information

The Problem

Congested stretch of four lane road

from mm21 to exit 36…

with “no money” to widen it

A Solution

Add a general purpose lane in both directions

•13 miles•$80- 130M (est)

Source: “I-77 Feasibility Study,” December 7, 2009

The Current Plan

Privately Operated Toll Lanes

•27.5 Miles•$655 M•50 year contract•Cintra, a Spanish company

Source: NCDOT Press Release, April 11, 2014

Why the difference?

Example: Toll Lane Flyover

Source: NCDOT

The Cost Of Toll Lanes

Source: I-77 JLTCO Report, 4-25-14, WI77 analysis

Taxpayer Obligation

Taxpayer Contribution $88M For private tolling lanes

Taxpayer Subsidy $75M To cover potential revenue shortfalls

Taxpayer Liability $215M Government-backed bonds

Substantial Taxpayer Involvement for Having “No Money”

Source: I-77 JLTCO Report, 4-25-14, WI77 analysis

How Toll Lanes Work Built and operated under an exclusive 50

year contract Vehicles with 3+ occupants use lane for free Electronic Tolling- no toll booths Guaranteed minimum speed “Congestion pricing”

More congestion in “free” lanes = higher price to use toll lanes

No limit on tolls

Business Model Ensures Congestion

Toll Rates 2015

Source: I-77 HOT Lanes Technical Memorandum #6, Stantec, Sept 4, 2012

$20 Round Trip When Toll Lanes Open

Toll Rates 2035

Source: I-77 HOT Lanes Technical Memorandum #6, Stantec, Sept 4, 2012

$40 Round Trip In Twenty Years ???

Cintra’s Answer

Source: “How much will I-77 tolls cost?”, WCNC, August 21, 2014

Congestion On General Lanes

2015 2035 Difference

AM Commute(Minutes)

39.4 71.6 32.3

PM Commute(Minutes)

41.5 69.3 27.8

Total(Minutes)

80.9 140.9 60.0

Source: I-77 HOT Lanes Technical Memorandum #6, Stantec, Sept 4, 2012

Commute Time Lengthens By An Hour per Day

Average Commute Time- Charlotte to Mooresville

Typical Access Point

Source: Executed Comprehensive Agreement

Ingress & Egress

Source: RFI for Senator Tarte, 6-17-14; NCDOT “Managed Lanes” FAQ

Exit 27 (Westmoreland)

Exit ~20 (Hambright)

CharlotteCharlotte

Exit 18 (WT Harris)

Exit 13 (I-85)

Existing LKN Exits Bypassed (23, 25, 28, 30)

MooresvilleMooresville

35

33

30

28

25

23

Exit 36 (NC 150)

Exit 31 (Langtree)

?

??

Patron Confidential Information Foreign company could collect:

Name, Address, Tel #, email, credit card info Drivers license number Vehicle registration information Social Security Number Law enforcement records Financial profiles Medical data

Information shared with: NCDOT (upon request) Authorized employers or contractors Authorized collection agencies North Carolina Public Safety agency (for toll enforcement) Any other public law enforcement agency (for toll

enforcement) Any governmental entity (under applicable law)

Source: Executed Comprehensive Agreement, Sect 8.7, June 26, 2014

Private toll lanes… Are Expensive

$20 daily tolls

Ensure Congestion for 50 years Commute times nearly double

Bypass local businesses Could collect significant personal data

Can be shared widely

Siphon millions out of our local economy and send it to Spain

Private Toll Lanes Are Not the Answer

Status

“Commercial Close” Signed June 26, 2014

“Financial Close” Q4 2014

Time Is Short

Now What?

A New Funding Paradigm: STI

Passed last summer HB 817

Replaces Equity Formula Favored rural over urban areas

More data-driven Supposed to remove pork politicking

NCDOT STI Scores for I-77 Project

How Does This Rank Against Other Statewide Projects?

I77 General Purpose Lane Project

I77 scores higher than 33 funded projects

Projects to be funded

Projects unfundedI-77 GP project through Lake Norman

73 “Statewide” funded projects

377 Unfunded Projects

Highest scoring funded project

Lowest scoring funded project

A General Purpose Lane Project Would Likely Be Funded…

The Bad News: STI Corridor Cap

A maximum of 10% of projected funding in the “statewide” category

A “corridor” is defined as “any contiguous projects or group of projects”

Since I-77 South (i.e. Charlotte) scores higher it would use all corridor cap money

NCDOT says corridor cap applies... we disagree, but…

The Good News…

Corridor cap only applies to STATEWIDE Category

I-77 LKN could still be funded under Regional and Division categories 60% of total fundng ~$9B dollars

I-77 general use project eligible to be ranked as early as July 2014!

Six Month Wait vs 50 Years of Tolls

What do we do now?

Apply pressure to rank the general use project under STI Local elected officials State representatives CRTPO

Seek to null the contract

About Widen I-77

A 501(c) organization Donations are tax deductible Subject to IRS reporting and auditing

Our only shot at avoiding 50 years of tolls…

Thank You

WidenI77PO Box 792Cornelius, NC 28031wideni77@hotmail.comwideni77.org

Appendix

Reprioritizing Transportation Funding

Statewide (40%)~$2.4B

Regional (40%)~$2.4B

Division(20%)

~$1.2B

Per capitaby region

Equallyto Divisions

Project Merit (Data)

5 6 7

8 9 10111213

4321

14

A B C

D E F G

Interstates/ NHS/STRAHNET

/Tolls/Etc

(S) + Hwys, Airport, Rail,

Transit

(S) + (R) + Local

Three-Plus Chances for Funding GP LanesHB817, Strategic Transportation Investments,

Strategic Mobility Fund- Criteria

• Benefit/Cost• Congestion• Economic

competitiveness• Freight• Multi-modal• Pavement

condition• Lane width• Shoulder width

100%

Statewide (40%)~$2.4B

Regional (40%)~$2.4B

Division(20%)

~$1.2B

• Benefit/Cost• Congestion• Economic

competitiveness• Freight• Multi-modal• Pavement condition• Lane width• Shoulder width

70%

• Local considerations

30%

• Benefit/Cost• Congestion• Economic competitiveness• Freight• Multi-modal• Pavement condition• Lane width• Shoulder width

50%

• Local considerations

50%

Much Greater Emphasis on Project Merit

NDOT Divisions