Katie Moore / Eyewitness News
NEW ORLEANS -- U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar made a special stop in New Orleans during his visit on Wednesday.
He announced that the Lafitte Corridor has been chosen as a priority project for scarce federal funds.
Trains once carried cargo from the river to the lake on it, but it could soon carry people.
“Right now, this is an abandoned rail corridor. It's basically just wasted space,” said Bart Everson, president of the group Friends of the Lafitte Corridor.
The Lafitte Corridor runs 3.1 miles through the city and is now slated for the development of a hiking and biking trail.
“We fully expect to break ground on phase one in 2013. So, in short order we can actually expect to see a trail being built. Now, it'll be a very basic trail to begin with,” Everson said.
The project already has $7.5 million in Community Development Block Grant funds from Katrina.
“Because this project has been selected as one of the seven priority projects in the United States of America, and that's a pretty big place, you will have priority in the funding even during these tough times,” Salazar said.
It puts the Lafitte Corridor on the short list for federal dollars as part of the "America's Great Outdoors" initiative.
“We don't know what the dollars will be at this point, but it will add to the assistance and the funding that we're getting,” said Councilwoman Susan Guidry.
Even the hope of additional funding is welcome for those who have fought for years now to make New Orleans a great place to live, bike and even hike.
