New Orleans — North Rampart Project Advances

Rail Transit Online, February 2011

The New Orleans Regional Transit Authority has approved moving ahead with final design on the French Quarter streetcar loop from Canal Street to Press Street via North Rampart Street and St. Claude Avenue. In addition, a 1.2-mile (1.93 km) spur would be built on Elysian Fields Avenue to a connection with the Riverfront streetcar line at Esplanade Avenue. The $90-million project, to be equipped with replica heritage rolling stock, is fully funded and construction could begin in mid-2012.

No money is currently available for a proposed second phase to Poland Avenue in the Upper 9th Ward. Moving ahead with the North Rampart scheme means the planned Convention Center Boulevard streetcar extension has been indefinitely postponed since all available capital spending has been committed.

The RTA is ready to begin work on another new streetcar line on Loyola Avenue from Canal Street to the Union Passenger Terminal, the city railroad station, which is fully funded by a $45-million federal grant. RTA officials have plans for additional expansion once financing can be found.