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NEW ORLEANS — The Regional Transit Authority’s long-awaited Cemeteries Transit Center on Canal Boulevard has opened.

RTA officials, the Federal Transit Administration Region 6 Deputy Regional Administrator, Mayor Mitch Landrieu, and other dignitaries gathered there for the grand opening Friday morning.

The proposed transit hub near the intersection of Canal Boulevard and City Park Avenue was originally planned as part of the Canal Streetcar project, which was completed in 2004. The RTA revised the design several times over the years before work began on the $10 million construction project in 2017.

The transit center is designed to make connections more convenient and provide a safer crossing for pedestrians and motorists. The project includes the following:

• Streetcar track extension from Canal Street across City Park Avenue to the transit center on Canal Boulevard
• Covered shelters in the neutral ground with a turn-around for buses on the Louisiana, Lakeview, Hayne, Jackson/Esplanade lines as well at Jefferson Parish (JeT) transit lines. This location will also serve as the terminus for the Canal Streetcar line
• Improved traffic signalization at Canal Street, Canal Boulevard, and City Park Avenue
• Pedestrian signals for safer crossings at the intersections

Construction on the project began July 31, and the intersections were reopened to motorists on December 4.

Detoured RTA bus lines, the Canal Streetcar line and JeT buses will begin using the transit hub on Sunday.

The project was funded primarily through a grant from the Federal Transit Administration.

For more information about the routes, visit the NORTA website.