**South Corridor LRT**

**Charlotte, North Carolina**

(November 2005)

**Description**

The Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS), in cooperation with the City
of Charlotte, is constructing a 9.6-mile, 15 station light rail transit
(LRT) line extending from Uptown Charlotte (the city's central business
district (CBD)) to Interstate 485 in south Mecklenburg County near the
South Carolina State line. A 3.7-mile portion of the proposed system --
between Uptown and Scaleybark Road -- would operate on an abandoned
Norfolk Southern right-of-way owned by the City of Charlotte. The
remainder of the planned system (5.9 miles) would operate on separate
tracks generally paralleling the right-of-way. Seven of the proposed
stations from I-485 north to Scaleybark Road would include park-and-ride
lots with a total of approximately 3,300 spaces, and would serve as
transfer points for local and express bus service. The South Corridor
Light Rail project is expected to carry 9,100 average weekday riders in
December 2007 and 17,650 average weekday riders by 2025.

[]{.mark}

The total project cost under the Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) is
\$426.85 million.

**Status**

In November 1998, a local referendum was passed authorizing a dedicated
local sales tax of ½ percent for funding transit service in the region.
A major investment study in the South Corridor that identified light
rail as the locally preferred alternative was completed the following
year. FTA approved the South Corridor LRT project for preliminary
engineering in August 2000. CATS issued a Draft Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) in October 2002. The Final EIS was published in April
2003, and a Record of Decision was issued in May 2003. FTA approved the
project's entry into final design in August 2003. In May 6, 2005, FTA
entered into an FFGA providing a Federal commitment of \$192.94 million
in New Starts funds.

SAFETEA-LU Section 3043 (a)(3) authorized the South Corridor LRT project
for final design and construction. Through FY 2006, Congress has
appropriated \$122.20 million for the project.

+-------------------------+---------------+----------------------------+
| **Reported in Year of   |               |                            |
| Expenditure Dollars**   |               |                            |
+-------------------------+---------------+----------------------------+
| **[Source of            | **Total       | **[Appropriations to       |
| Funds]{.underline}**    | Funding       | Date]{.underline}**        |
|                         | [(million)]{  |                            |
|                         | .underline}** |                            |
+-------------------------+---------------+----------------------------+
| **Federal:**            | \$192.94      | \$122.20 appropriated      |
|                         |               | through FY 2006            |
| Section 5309 New Starts | \$6.41        |                            |
|                         |               |                            |
| FFGA Commitment         |               |                            |
|                         |               |                            |
| Section 5307 Formula    |               |                            |
| Funds                   |               |                            |
+-------------------------+---------------+----------------------------+
| **State:**              | \$106.70      |                            |
|                         |               |                            |
| State FFGA              |               |                            |
+-------------------------+---------------+----------------------------+
| **Local:**              | \$120.80      |                            |
|                         |               |                            |
| Sale Tax Revenues       |               |                            |
+-------------------------+---------------+----------------------------+
| **TOTAL**               | **\$426.85**  |                            |
+-------------------------+---------------+----------------------------+

**NOTE:** The sum of the figures may differ from the total as listed due
to rounding.

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