Utility diversions are being completed along the route of Manchester Metrolink’s Second City Crossing (2CC).
The new line, which will provide a new city centre link connecting St Peter’s Square, Exchange Square and Victoria station, will further expand Manchester’s growing light rail network.
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has said the line will be completed by 2017.
The first phase of the project will see gas pipes, and electricity and phone cable repositioned to make way for the new route.
Councillor Andrew Fender, chairman of TfGM Committee, said: “This is a moment in time akin to the first spade hitting the ground when the first ever Metrolink line was being built almost 25 years ago.
“It is a symbol of just how successful it has become in that time, such that we now need a second city crossing to increase the capacity, flexibility and reliability of the network.
“It will enable the system and all of its new lines to operate to the fullest, and meet the growing demand that already sees more than 27 million journeys made on our trams each year.”
