CLEVELAND -- The city of Cleveland broke ground Tuesday on the $200 million Euclid Corridor Project, which will revitalize the transportation system on the major city street, reported NewsChannel5’s Leon Bibb.

The Regional Transit Authority will run rapid transit vehicles down Euclid Avenue between Public Square and University Circle.

The rubber-wheeled vehicles with a rail-minded design are expected to strengthen both the downtown and uptown regions of Cleveland.

SLIDESHOW: Euclid Corridor Project

George Dixon III, president of the RTA Board of Trustees, says the new line will reduce travel time between downtown and University Circle by 10 minutes. Travel time will now take about 20 minutes.

Civic and business leaders agreed the project would be paid for with federal and state money.

The vehicles will be fueled on combined electricity and diesel, and centerline stations will dot the 7-mile stretch of Euclid. Bibb reported that years ago, the trolley cars ran down Euclid using the same centerline concept.

RTA general manager Joseph Calabrese said the concept of the project was to try and connect the city’s two biggest employment centers.

The project is set for completion in 2008.