Officials broke ground Wednesday on the new $95-million Auburn Avenue streetcar project, designed to bring jobs and new business opportunities to Atlanta’s civil rights corridor, city officials say. 

That streetcar line will connect Centennial Olympic Park, The Georgia Aquarium and the World of Coke to the King Center, officials announced at a kick-off celebration held earlier today near the tourist sites.

Channel 2’s Richard Elliot was at the event, where Mayor Kasim Reed, joined by local and federal representatives, spoke of the project’s benefits to existing businesses, as the streetcar line will run through the heart of Atlanta’s tourism and convention districts, officials said.

"The benefit to the existing businesses in terms of infrastructure, arterial improvements, far outweigh the inconveniences that they're going to have," said Reed, referring to critics’ concerns about the massive construction project, slated for completion in 2013.

Some residents, business owners and commuters have expressed heartburn over the project turning Auburn Avenue and Edgewood Avenue, along with crossing streets, into a massive construction zone.  Yet, Reed contends the construction for the project, which is partially funded by the federal government, will be worth the end result.

 U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood echoed Reed’s sentiments during the ceremony, saying the project will provide much needed jobs.

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"Because it creates jobs, it also creates an economic corridor that doesn't exist right now," said LaHood.  "Once this streetcar is completed, it will be a magnet for tourism.  It will draw people to parts of Atlanta."

Ebenezer Baptist Church sits at the point the streetcar will turn right off Auburn to begin its loop back downtown.  It's pastor, Dr. Raphael Warnock, said it will inconvenience his church members, but in the long term, it will bring jobs.

"I think about the people who sit in the pews in my church," said Warnock.  "Many of them are skilled construction workers, plumbers, electricians, and this represents a real opportunity for people to get back to work."

But barber shop owner Lamar Collier isn't so sure things won't get a lot worse before they get better, he told Elliot.  Collier said he’s concerned the construction project will kill his business because it will make it more difficult for his customers to reach him. Still, he tries to stay optimistic.

"I expect it's going to be good for the area in the long run," said Collier.  "I think so."

Atlanta City Council Member Kwanza Hall, who represents the district, said the city has worked with local businesses and residents in that area in unprecedented ways.

"We've had to create all kinds of interesting schedules for construction," said Hall.  "When it can happen, when it cannot.  But also, everyone has to be willing to accommodate this inconvenience."