Work To Begin On New Streetcar Line In New Orleans

(Information in the following story is from: The Advocate, http://theadvocate.com )

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Work is expected to begin this month on a new streetcar line that will run down Rampart Street and St. Claude Avenue, a historic corridor that stretches downriver from the French Quarter. The Regional Transit Authority recently announced plans to start work on the line after years of planning and debate.

Justin Augustine, the agency's general manager, told The New Orleans Advocate that the project will take about two years to complete once the work starts. The newspaper reports that the main phase of construction will be paid for with $41.5 million from a 2010 bond sale.The new line will run from Canal Street to Elysian Fields Avenue running along Rampart Street and St. Claude Avenue. Officials hope the line will spur economic development along the corridor.

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