CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- City leaders held a ribbon cutting for the LYNX Blue Line extension Monday.

"We're excited. It's been a long time coming," said UNC Charlotte Associate Vice Chancellor of Facilities Phil Jones.

"It's still unreal, but I'm getting used to it pretty fast," said resident Rich Haag.

Haag bought a condo across from UNC Charlotte about a decade ago. One of the reasons he came was talk of a light rail.

"We thought it's a great place but if that happens it will be an amazing place," Haag said.

When the extension opens, the Blue Line will expand its reach by nine miles and 11 stops from uptown Charlotte to UNC Charlotte.

"It allows students to be able to take a class at the main campus and perhaps another class at the downtown campus with guaranteed trip times," said CATS CEO John Lewis.

Lewis said the trip from uptown to the university will take between 23 and 28 minutes.

"I think that's the best part of it, you're not stuck in traffic," Jones said.

The trial period for the blue line extension has hit some bumps.

"Last week we had an issue with our communications systems on our automatic train protective system," Lewis said. "There was hardware equipment that had to be replaced. We replaced it and we've had no problems in the last few days of testing."

CATS will continue testing the Blue Line extension over the next few weeks. The new stations will officially open to the public March 16.