Preparations for the $1.6 billion Blue Line extension project in Charlotte, North Carolina, are nearing completion. Officials have penciled in March to begin construction on the 9.3-mile light rail line.
The Charlotte Area Transit System’s Blue Line Extension will eventually connect uptown Charlotte to the UNC Charlotte campus along a 9.3-mile route. Planners are targeting testing in December 2016 and a possible opening date of spring 2017. The extension will connect with the south line to total 19 miles of service. The existing line currently averages daily ridership somewhere between 14,000 and 15,000 passenger trips and has been credited with spurring about 2,500 new and expected residential units along the route.
“Design work for the $1.6 billion Blue Line extension is more than 95 percent finished, and the city has closed on 261 of the 312 pieces of land it must buy for the light-rail line to University City,” reports Steve Harrison.
Charlotte is no stranger to the national transportation news cycle. Current U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx left his position as mayor of Charlotte to join the Obama Administration Cabinet.
FULL STORY: Light-rail construction for Blue Line extension to begin in March
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