Charlotte Area Transit System chief executive John Lewis told the City Council –‘hot off the presses’ as he put it— that the $1.1 billion Blue Line light rail extension to UNC-Charlotte would open on March 16, just in time for NCAA regional games in the Spectrum Center:
The Blue Line Extension will add 9.3 miles and 11 stations, from uptown to UNC Charlotte. The entire Blue Line will allow passengers to take a roughly 45-minute ride from Interstate 485 in south Charlotte to the university.
Charlotte will host the first and second rounds of the men’s basketball tournament. Those games will be played March 16 and Sunday, March 18, and people staying in hotels in University City can have easy access to the arena.
Obviously Lewis thinks the timing is perfect, but as a commenter to the Charlotte Observer’s write-up pointed out, “Likely the number of riders will be huge”–which is what CATS wants—but “what if there are opening day problems?”—which is likely.
Stay tuned.
