Charlotte, NC — Engineering Funded

January 2014

Charlotte City Council has agreed to spend $12 million in city funds for engineering of a 2.5-mile extension of its Uptown streetcar line in hopes of attracting federal funds for construction, The Charlotte Observer reports.

Extension of the streetcar starter line, which is currently under construction, is one of the region’s more controversial transportation projects, and is estimated to cost $126 million. The extended route would connect Johnson C. Smith University to the west with the Elizabeth neighborhood to the east.

In 2013, City Manager Ron Carlee ended a more than one year long stalemate holding up the project by proposing to spend $63 million from city reserves while applying for $63 million in federal grants. Spending the $12 million in support of the Federal grant application could be considered an act of good faith helping the Federal approval process. The starter line, costing $37 million, is being paid in part by a $25 million Federal grant.