NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – After 22 months of construction and detours, the street car on North Rampart from Canal to Elysian Fields is up and running.
The new line officially began running Sunday (Oct. 2) at 6 a.m.
The $40.6 million project replaces a streetcar line that ran on the same corridor until about 70 years ago, RTA spokeswoman Patrice Bell-Mercadel said.
“You have new underground water systems, improved electrics, so for the people who live and work and travel through this community everyday we’ve made the commute easier,” said Bell-Mercadel. “We’ve improved the quality of life by adding a bike lane and we’ve really improved the look of their neighborhood.”
Bell-Mercadel said it was a priority of the RTA to maintain the historical dignity of the corridor, while still improving road quality and infrastructure in the area.
“We were very conscious of the fact that it runs through a historic neighborhood, and that it’s actually the site of the corridor that previously had a streetcar line up until about 70 years ago.” remarked Bell-Mercadel. “We took pain-staking care to restore the historic light fixtures, to build shelters that are married to the historic nature of this community, and to work with the businesses and residents to give them a product that could really increase their business and help them to actually expand what they are doing here.”