Tel Aviv Light Rail Construction Begins

JERUSALEM, Israel -- Tel Avivans will soon be facing the same challenges Jerusalemites have dealt with for more than a decade, with Sunday evening marking the start of construction for a light rail system in Israel's largest city.

Construction for Jerusalem's light rail began in 2002, with the trains becoming fully operational in 2011.

During that nine-year period, many businesses suffered substantial losses when construction disrupted the normal flow of customers to restaurants and shops.

Today, the capital's light rail system brings commuters from several outlying neighborhoods, while crews continue laying track in other parts of the city.

Building a light rail system is an ambitious undertaking no matter where it's done, but in Tel Aviv, where heavy traffic often gets snarled, it may be even more challenging.  Much of the work is done at night, with the aim of causing as little disruption as possible to daytime traffic.

Around 10 p.m. Sunday evening, construction crews began preliminary excavations for one of the light rail stations near a busy intersection.

Officials hope to finish Tel Aviv's light rail system in about six years.

Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz was glad to see the project get started, calling it "an historic day."

Though Katz promised to do what he could to lighten the burden for Tel Avivians, police say construction-related road closures could snarl traffic from the city of Ashdod to the south to Netanya, north of Tel Aviv.