ASHEVILLE – To help obtain funding for a highway widening project along Interstate 40, the French Broad River Metropolitan Planning Organization is considering recommending that the North Carolina Department of Transportation install express lanes from just outside of Clyde in Haywood County to West Asheville.
The regional planning organization met on Oct. 16 to discuss a recently completed study investigating the installation of express lanes, which would come with tolls, across an 16-mile section of I-40 west of Asheville. The plans include widened roadway and express lanes that would stretch from Exit 27 in Cylde to Exit 44, just within Asheville city limits and near Smokey Park Highway. The planning organization is composed of local elected officials who help the North Carolina Department of Transportation set regional transit priorities.
The proposal was one of several made by the planning organization in a 2018 Congestion Management Process, a multi-year long planning document that indicates possible projects to help reduce area congestion and improve traffic safety. That study included exploring recommendations for toll lanes along Interstate 26, Interstate 240 and I-40 near and around the Asheville metro. In 2024, the planning organization ordered a study exploring the installation of toll lanes along the corridor of I-40.
Express lanes in North Carolina include 27 miles along Interstate 77 from Brookshire Freeway in Mecklenburg County to Exit 36 in Iredell County
The project along I-40 would cost between $700 million for one express lane to $850 million for two lanes, according to David Roy, director of innovative finance at the North Carolina Turnpike Authority. The express lanes would run in each direction. If established, they would be the first in Western North Carolina.
The French Broad River Metropolitan Planning Organization will consider recommending the installation of express lanes along an over 16 mile corridor of Interstate 40 to help fund a widening project, depicted by this map.
Express lanes in North Carolina include 27 miles along Interstate 77 from Brookshire Freeway in Mecklenburg County to Exit 36 in Iredell County, which are managed by a private developer, I-77 Mobility Partners, according to the North Carolina Department of Transportation website. The road utilizes a high-occupancy toll pricing method, where pricing is dynamic and based on traffic. Vehicles with three or more people may use the lanes for free with an NC Quick Pass sticker transponder. Motorists can still ride adjacent to the lanes for free.
The French Broad River Metropolitan Planning Organization will consider recommending the installation of express lanes along an over 16 mile corridor of Interstate 40 to help fund a widening project along the corridor. The lanes would begin at Exit 27 near Clyde and end at Exit 44 in Asheville, seen here. Oct. 20, 2025.
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The project had originally been submitted as just a road widening project, but was not prioritized for funding under the State Transportation Improvement Plan, French Broad River Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Director Tristan Winkler said Oct. 16. The express lanes could change that.
Under North Carolina state law, toll revenues can only go toward improvements or maintenance along a turnpike, meaning fewer long-term costs for the state transportation department. Those revenues could improve the chances for state funding, Roy said, as they will reduce costs to the NCDOT.
The project would also likely come with a significant “bonus allocation,” an incentive created by the North Carolina General Assembly to encourage more tolling across the state, Roy said. The allocation can be spent on other transportation projects across the region.
The French Broad River Metropolitan Planning Organization will consider recommending the installation of express lanes along an over 16 mile corridor of Interstate 40 to help fund a widening project along the corridor. The lanes would begin at Exit 27 near Clyde and end at Exit 44 in Asheville, seen here. Oct. 20, 2025.
“In all likelihood, this project would qualify for the maximum $100 million bonus allocation,” Roy said.
The proposal would have to be recommended “no later than January” if the organization plans on submitting it for the next year of funding, Winkler said.
The plan had not been postively received by all in the organization. Woodfin Mayor Jim McAlister described toll roads as leading to issues of class, where those without the financial means to use them won’t at all.
“It’s a have and a have not (situation). This becomes rich versus poor,” McAlister said during the meeting.
Will Hofmann is the Growth and Development Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Got a tip? Email him at WHofmann@citizentimes.com. Consider supporting this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: New I-40 express lanes in Asheville proposed by planning organization
