Work will be done in two phases: from Napoleon to Claiborne, then from Napoleon downtown
The iconic St. Charles Avenue streetcar line, which was shut down for nearly three years after Hurricane Katrina, will close again within weeks as work crews begin to replace aging wooden cross-ties that hold the track in place.
The streetcar tracks will be repaired in two phases, under the RTA plan. Regional Transit Authority officials hope to complete the $7 million project, financed with a federal grant, in two stages during the next year. They had proposed starting in about two weeks, but that timetable was pushed back until the end of the month, at the earliest, after a meeting late Tuesday between RTA brass and members of Mayor Mitch Landrieu's administration.
Other details of the plan are still subject to tweaking.
Under the RTA plan, the first phase, from Napoleon Avenue to the line's terminus at South Carrollton and South Claiborne avenues, could start in late March and be finished by October. Phase two, from Napoleon Avenue to Canal Street, would begin upon completion of the first leg of work and last until the first quarter of 2012.
Buses will run along the stretches of the line where construction work is being done. During construction, riders will be able to transfer from streetcars to buses, and vice versa, at no extra cost, transit officials said.
RTA officials pledged Tuesday to do everything in their power to minimize the pain for customers and keep the public informed of progress on repairs. As a result of those discussions, the RTA has agreed to push back the project until at least the end of March to allow more time to alert the public.
"We know this project will temporarily inconvenience our passengers, but we're doing this to better serve the community over the long run," said RTA spokeswoman Patrice Bell Mercadel. "We believe we have developed a plan to provide the most efficient service while this much-needed work is done."
The St. Charles line is by far the RTA's busiest route, carrying more than 3.1 million riders last year.
Even with citywide ridership down more than 65 percent more than five years after the storm, the streetcar line has maintained its popularity and now has a slightly higher passenger count than it did before Katrina.
The wooden cross-ties have not been replaced since 1988, when the RTA undertook a $47 million program to renovate the St. Charles line's cars and its maintenance barn and replace all 13 miles of track and track bed. That project was the first complete overhaul of the line, which began operating in the mid-1830s.
At the time, the agency used azobe, a tropical hardwood that officials described as the longest-lasting option available, one that would preclude major repairs for at least two decades.
In 1995, the RTA hired a consultant to determine whether the ties had deteriorated more quickly than expected. Researchers found that only a handful of the azobe sections had crumbled.
But Mercadel said a combination of termite and weather-related damage is finally beginning to take a toll on the cross-ties. "They are showing signs of breakage and rotting that could pose a serious safety concern if we don't address it," she said.
This time, Mercadel said, the RTA will use a recycled plastic composite that she said has become the industry standard.
"It was chosen based on its longer lifespan and resistance to water and termite damage," she said.
RTA officials reopened the streetcar line, a signature New Orleans attraction that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, in phases after extensive damage from Katrina forced them to shut it down in the fall of 2005.
End-to-end service wasn't restored until late June 2008.
The green Perley Thomas Car Co. vehicles began rolling along the full length of St. Charles Avenue in December 2007, about two months after service was reinstituted between Canal Street and Napoleon Avenue. From December 2006 until November 2007, streetcars ran only as far as Lee Circle.
After the storm, the RTA built three new, $1 million electrical substations along the route, hung a new and improved network to replace overhead wires and cables that were torn apart by high winds and falling tree limbs and replaced a dozen poles that support the power system.
The 35 streetcars used on St. Charles Avenue survived Katrina because they were stored on high ground inside the Willow Street barn.
Some of those streetcars were used on the Canal and Riverfront lines while the newer, red streetcars destroyed in the flood were rebuilt.
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Frank Donze can be reached at fdonze@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3328.