The first step in the long road to restoration for the St. Charles Avenue streetcar line is set to take place today, as transit officials bring back daily service between Canal Street and Lee Circle for the first time since Hurricane Katrina.

Scheduled for 10:30 a.m., the ceremonial trip around Robert E. Lee's statue marks the completion of the initial phase of a three-part reformation project expected to last at least another 15 months.

Under plans still being developed, the Regional Transit Authority hopes to reopen a second leg of the historic St. Charles line, between Lee Circle and Napoleon Avenue, by next summer. The final segment, which will restore service from Napoleon to the terminus on Carrollton Avenue, likely won't be finished until spring or early summer of 2008, officials said.

"We're trying to do it right and make it as reliable as possible," Fred Basha, the RTA's capital projects director, said last week. "When we finish, everything should be in really good shape and much easier to maintain."

Since New Orleans' post-Katrina transit service resumed in October 2005, the RTA has operated buses on St. Charles Avenue, a service that will continue until the streetcars are ready to roll. The streetcar line, one of New Orleans' signature attractions, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

35 streetcars saved

The RTA resumed service on a portion of the Canal Street streetcar line about a year ago. In the spring, the agency added the Riverfront line and the remainder of the Canal Street line, including the Carrollton Avenue spur.