NCDOT reviewed a fact sheet and other general project information while answering questions for town commissioners, including Mooresville’s Bobby Compton and Mac Herring.

The question they didn’t answer, however, is how much the tolls will cost travelers.

Lewis acknowledged after the meeting that citizens may not know the actual price of the tolls for possibly four years. When asked if it was fair to say that residents would not know the price of the tolls before the project was a “done deal,” despite lenders for the project having the figures, he admitted that it was a “fair comment,” but added that more information pertaining to the cost of the lanes would be made available without giving a timetable as to when.

Lewis said he did not want to speak for Cintra but that NCDOT did not want to “mislead” anyone by quoting numbers that could change.

In a previous statement, NCDOT responded to assertions by Widen I-77 – a citizens group that is fighting the toll lanes -- that toll costs could run as high as $11 roundtrip between Mooresville and Charlotte during rush hour, stating that they believe a more reasonable expectation is a roundtrip cost of $2, since they don’t expect motorists to use the managed lane system for the entire round trip.