The Regional Transit Authority
has issued an invitation for bids on a streetcar maintenance facility to be
built as part of the restoration of trolley service on Canal Street between
the Mississippi River and the cemeteries. Officially called the service,
inspection and storage (SIS) facility, it will be housed at the A. Philip
Randolph bus garage, the site of the original car barn for the first Canal
streetcar line. A 1926 building, which is listed on the National Register of
Historic Places and now housing RTA bus operations, is to be renovated for the
SIS. A portion of the Overhaul Facility (built circa 1924) is to be renovated
to house running maintenance and some storage tracks, with additional yard
tracks outside the building. Lead tracks connecting the SIS with the
streetcar line will be constructed on RTA property parallel to North Gayoso
Street. The existing vault-pulling island used by the bus fleet will be
replaced with a new facility to serve both buses and streetcars. Bids are
scheduled to be opened on Nov. 15.
