A week after holding a meeting behind closed doors, the N.C. Department of Transportation said Thursday that future meetings of a Interstate 77 working group will be open to the public.
The state created the working group to explore ways to improve or kill a 50-year contract with a private company to build and manage toll lanes on I-77. The group held its first meeting last week at the Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce, which did not allow the media to attend. The DOT and N.C. Turnpike Authority did not ask or require the chamber to allow the public inside.
The next meeting will be Feb. 14. The state hasn’t said where the group will meet.
The state’s open meetings law says that all state public bodies – even advisory committees – must hold open meetings. The toll-lane working group has roughly 20 members, made up of appointees from local governments and chambers of commerce. Read more…