Secretary Foxx at CityLYNX Gold Line groundbreaking. Photo: courtesy of FTA.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx joined local dignitaries to celebrate the groundbreaking of the CityLYNX Gold Line Phase 2 project in Charlotte, N.C. The project will extend streetcar service west two miles from the Charlotte Transportation Center through Uptown Charlotte and will also extend service east one-half mile along Hawthorne Lane from Novant Presbyterian Hospital to Sunnyside Avenue.
“The Charlotte Streetcar investment comes at a critical time for Charlotte,” stated Secretary Foxx. “As the community seeks to reconnect areas of the city, expand job creation into historically underserved areas and bring the entire city together, this project has the potential to do so. This project can be more than a transportation asset; it can be a community builder.”
Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) CEO John Lewis said, “Constructing Phase 2 of the CityLYNX Gold Line is a monumental step in building out our overall transit system. This important cross-town connection will strengthen transportation choices for the Charlotte region.”
The project, which will add 11 stops and replace the existing replica Gomaco vehicles with six S70 Siemens modern streetcars, has a total cost of $150 million. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is contributing $75 million in funding through a Small Start grant under the FTA’s Capital Investment Grant Program. The remaining cost is being covered by the city of Charlotte, N.C. The extension is expected to be completed by summer 2020.