Charlotte, NC — Tracks Through a Building

Rail Transit Online – November 2002

Work on the innovative glass tunnel that will carry light rail vehicles and historic trolleys through the Charlotte Convention Center is progressing rapidly, and workers are getting ready to install 450 springs to cushion the concrete slabs that will carry the trackway.  The arrangement is designed to reduce vibration and noise, avoiding disruption to meetings and other events.  The tunnel should be completed by next June 30 and will be put into service in late July or early August by the Charlotte Trolley, which now operates on about two miles (3.2 km) of South Boulevard using a restored 1928 car.  The convention center segment is part of a two-mile (3.2 km) extension to uptown, the city’s central business district.  Light rail trains on the planned South Corridor line will also travel through the convention center beginning in 2006.  A new set of escalators on the building’s north side will be installed starting in late November that will take visitors over the tracks to a new lounge on the tunnel's roof.  The total cost of the project has risen from $11 million to $15 million because of design changes and higher than expected bids based on requirements that the work be done at night and be completed by next summer.