CHARLOTTE -- After more than a decade of planning and construction, the $1.2B Lynx Blue Line Extension is open! 

Three ribbon cuttings happened this morning along the Blue Line Friday morning at UNC Charlotte, the 36th Street Station and at the Ninth Street Station.

There are multiple bridges and even a shorter tunnel to get to UNC-Charlotte's main station.  

Fast facts:

  • The Blue Line is 9.3 milies long.
  • It has a total of 11 stations.
  • It's projected to serve 24,500 riders a day by 2035
  • It includes four park-and-ride stations with 3,000 spaces.
  • It was a $1.16 billion project
  • The trip from Uptown to the university will take between 23 and 28 minutes.
  • The ride from station to station, South Blvd/485 to UNC Charlotte Main station, is 47 minutes long.

Jill Brim spent the past decade as the project director for the extension. She calls it her baby. Brim knows the line like the back of her hand, especially after riding it more than 100 times the past couple of months.

"My favorite view is when we're heading into Uptown, and it's twilight and you're looking at the skyline as you're heading over the Craighead bridge. It's gorgeous," said Brim. 

Many people along the Blue Line have spent a long time waiting for the train's extension.

Some of them are hoping it could lead to future growth in Charlotte.

The area surrounding the new stop in NoDa is already seeing expansion, with the residential and retail development already underway.

For routes and schedules, click here.

LYNX Blue Line map
Map of all the stops included for LYNX Blue Line once extension opens. (Click for larger view)