Part of this busy Charlotte road east of uptown is closed for about a month

Part of E. Seventh Street east of uptown Charlotte is being closed for nearly a month starting Wednesday for utility work related to the city’s Gold Line streetcar extension.

E. Seventh Street between Louise Avenue and Lamar Avenue, including the intersection at Hawthorne Lane near Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center, was closed Wednesday morning, Charlotte Department of Transportation said.

The road in the city’s Elizabeth neighborhood is scheduled to re-open on June 19 at 6 a.m.

CDOT said drivers should use N. Caswell Road, E. Fourth Street and Charlottetowne Avenue as a detour.

E. Seventh Street will be closed to all through traffic, CDOT said, but local access to homes and businesses will be maintained. CATS also will be affected by the closing.

The closure is needed for utility work as part of the CityLYNX Gold Line Phase 2 construction, which will extend the current streetcar segment by 2.5 miles on the east and west ends of the line.

The first 1.5-mile phase opened in 2015. The plan is to eventually have a 10-mile line from the old Eastland Mall site to the Rosa Parks Transit Center near Interstate 85 and Beatties Ford Road.

This story was originally published May 24, 2017 at 9:14 AM with the headline "Part of this busy Charlotte road east of uptown is closed for about a month."