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Light-rail trains from uptown to University City will go over Sugar Creek Road
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Published: January 14, 2009
CHARLOTTE - CATS has chosen a route for the northeast light rail extension that will follow the N.C. Railroad tracks for one mile after leaving the proposed Sugar Creek station. The alternative alignment would have placed the Lynx in the median of North Tryon Street sooner, but it would have cost an additional $57 million.
CATS had favored the Lynx route that followed the railroad tracks, but the city of Charlotte asked the transit agency to study whether the train could reach North Tryon Street sooner, at Dorton Street, to spark economic development.
"We thought there could be economic development, but it turns out after doing the study -- looking at the historic sites, and the environmental impact -- it didn't provide better benefits," said Danny Rogers, CATS project manager.
The area of the project in question is between Sugar Creek Road and Old Concord Road.
It's unclear if and when the Lynx extension will be built.
The plan is to extend the existing light-rail line from uptown to the University City area by 2015. The 11-mile project was penciled in last year to cost $750 million, but CATS recently said it could cost $900 million.
The transit system is scheduled to get its first detailed look at the cost in April. A consultant is currently doing engineering work on the project.
CATS believes the federal government will help pay for the project, as it did with the 9.6-mile Lynx. But if construction costs continue to increase, the project might not qualify for federal funding.
The state plans to depress Sugar Creek Road, allowing the existing railroad tracks to cross the road, and not requiring a crossing signal. The Sugar Creek Lynx station would be on a bridge over the road.
The Eastway station would be northeast of the Northpark shopping center.
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