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A vote today by an influential regional transportation board could decide the fate of the proposed toll lanes on Interstate 77. And expecting the project to get the green light, Mooresville’s Robert Brawley has grasped the controversy like a scepter in his campaign for governor.

On Tuesday, Brawley – a staunch opponent of the toll, or managed lanes – promised to cancel the I-77 project it if he is elected.

If he wins the Republican nomination in March then wins the general election in November, Brawley said “the citizens of this state can be assured that North Carolina will be toll road free. Just as our current Governor possesses the power to cancel the existing contracts that push the planned toll roads ahead, I will also have the power to do so and give you my word that I will cancel any contract, regardless of where it is in the process.”

The Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization is scheduled to take its crucial vote today in support or opposition to the concept of tolls, or managed lanes, on I-77 between Mooresville and Charlotte. The vote will be in response to a December request by Gov. Pat McCrory, Brawley’s chief opponent in the March Republican primary, for a regional decision.