MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- In preparation for a full launch, Milwaukee's streetcar -- The Hop -- will begin operating its first new extension route. 

The L Line will begin preview passenger service Sunday, Oct. 29. According to a news release, during this preview phase, riders will be able to experience the streetcar’s new L Line on Sundays during regular streetcar hours of 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. while construction continues at the Couture development and transit plaza.

The Lakefront Hop station within the Couture’s transit plaza will remain closed until construction is complete.

“We know the public has been eagerly awaiting the opening of the L Line, and we’re pleased to be able to offer this opportunity for our city to begin exploring the new L Line even as the Couture construction continues to progress overhead,” Milwaukee Commissioner of Public Works Jerrel Kruschke said. “While the eventual opening of the Lakefront station itself will be a transformational milestone for The Hop, this opportunity to begin providing preview service will be tremendously valuable both in terms of allowing the city to become acquainted with the new route and how it will interface with the existing M Line, while also allowing our operations to fine-tune this service in advance of a very exciting summer in Milwaukee next year.”

The Hop’s new L Line is a nearly 2-mile route incorporating five existing streetcar stations along the Milwaukee/Broadway corridor with three new stops along a new spur connecting to Milwaukee’s Lakefront. The extension was funded in large part by a Federal TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) grant awarded to the City of Milwaukee in 2015. The new route will connect the existing M Line and many of Milwaukee’s most-visited destinations, including the Henry Maier Festival Park, Milwaukee Art Museum, Discovery World, Veterans Park, and Milwaukee's downtown lakefront. 

L Line Route: 

The L-Line will operate independently from the M Line, served by one streetcar operating in a figure-eight pattern proceeding east on Michigan St., south through the Couture site, west on Clybourn St., north on Milwaukee St. to Kilbourn Ave, and south on Broadway to St. Paul Ave. The L Line car will provide service every 20 minutes to the existing Wisconsin Ave NB/SB, City Hall NB/SB and Historic Third Ward EB stations, as well as new stations at Michigan at Jackson EB, Clybourn at Jefferson WB, and eventually the Lakefront inside the Couture transit plaza. Riders will be able to transfer between the M and L Lines at any of the five overlapping stations.