U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx participated in a groundbreaking for the Charlotte Area Transit System’s (CATS) second phase of the CityLYNX Gold Line Streetcar system that will improve transit options in the greater Charlotte area and offer faster, more convenient access to downtown.

“The Charlotte Streetcar investment comes at a critical time for Charlotte,” Foxx said. “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.”

The second phase of the 2.5-mile expansion will improve circulation and transit connections; support economic revitalization; provide access from economically diverse neighborhoods to Uptown Charlotte; provide more efficient transit options; and connect key activity centers and facilities including Johnson C. Smith University, Johnson and Wales University, and the Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center.

When completed, the CityLYNX Gold Line streetcar project will extend to four miles, from the original 1.5-mile phase I section that opened for service in July 2015.

The CityLYNX Gold Line Phase II project will include 11 new stops, modifications to six existing stops, and the purchase of six modern streetcars.

FTA is contributing $75 million in funding to CATS through a Small Start grant under the FTA’s Capital Investment Grant Program. FTA’s Small Starts grant comprises approximately 50% of the project’s total cost of $150 million. The remaining cost is being covered by the city of Charlotte, NC. The extension is expected to be completed by summer 2020.