Transportation Secretary Foxx to attend Saturday groundbreaking for streetcar extension

The Charlotte Area Transit System will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the Gold Line streetcar extension Saturday at 3 p.m.

The ceremony, which will be attended by outgoing U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, will celebrate the second phase of the project. As Charlotte mayor from 2009 to 2013, Foxx championed the streetcar.

The first phase runs from the Spectrum Center to Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center in Elizabeth.

The second phase, which is expected to cost $150 million, will extend the 1.5-mile line in two directions. Most of the construction work will be to the west, where the Gold Line will be extended to Johnson C. Smith University. The line will also be extended to the east to Sunnyside Avenue. The second phase will add 2.5 miles to the line.

Foxx’s DOT awarded the city a $75 million grant to help pay for construction costs.

The ceremony will be across from the Mosaic Village at 1600 West Trade St. It was scheduled for last Saturday but was postponed because of the winter storm.

This story was originally published January 13, 2017 at 12:05 PM with the headline "Transportation Secretary Foxx to attend Saturday groundbreaking for streetcar extension."