Transport officials have broken ground on the first phase of a 10-mile light rail line in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The initial 1.5-mile section of the $37 million Charlotte Streetcar line will include six stops along an east-west transit corridor.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held earlier this week at the Presbyterian Hospital – one of the stops on the route.
Charlotte has been described as one of the nation’s fastest growing metropolitan areas in the country.
The city is the second largest financial center in the USA behind New York.
Secretary Ray LaHood said: “The streetcar project moves Charlotte a step closer to building a truly connected transit system that will enable commuters, students and visitors to travel seamlessly in and out of downtown.
The project is funded with $25 million from the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Urban Circulator Grant Program, with the City of Charlotte contributing $12 million.
Since 2007, the U.S. Department of Transportation has allocated $797 million for the construction of the LYNX Blue Line light rail network, including $580 million to effectively double the length of the line from uptown Charlotte to the city’s University of North Carolina Charlotte campus.
