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U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood joined city and local officials in Charlotte, N.C., yesterday to break ground on the first phase of a $37 million, 10-mile streetcar line.

The first 1.5-mile section of the Charlotte Streetcar Line will include six stops along an east-west transit corridor that will make it easier for riders to board a local bus or LYNX light-rail train heading north and south from the Charlotte Transportation Center, city officials said in a prepared statement.

"The streetcar project moves Charlotte a step closer to building a truly connected transit s esteem that will enable commuters, students and visitors to travel seamlessly in and out of downtown," LaHood said.

The project is being funded with $25 million from the Federal Transit Administration's Urban Circulator Grant Program. The city is contributing $12 million.

Charlotte has benefitted from federal investment in local transit in recent years. Since 2007, the U.S. Department of Transportation committed $797 million for the LYNX Blue Line light-rail project. The investment includes $580 million announced in October to double the length of the Blue Line from uptown to the city's University of North Carolina-Charlotte campus, and an $18 million grant announced in December 2011 through the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery program.