The heavy digging won't start until spring for Toronto's new Light Rail Transit line, but that didn't stop the politicians from holding a photo opportunity Wednesday.

Ontario's Premier Dalton McGuinty and Toronto's Mayor Rob Ford highlighted different benefits of the $8.2-billion Eglinton-Scarborough Crosstown project in their remarks.

"It will create tens of thousands of jobs, and that's just the beginning," McGuinty said, with construction activity in the background.

Ford chose to emphasize his vision for transit. "It will slash travel time on one of the most congested corridors in the city," Ford said.

"It will replace buses with underground transit to provide fast, reliable transportation and significantly expand Toronto's transportation system."

Ford campaigned for office last year with a promise to kill the Transit City light rail project and shift to his own plan. The Eglinton-Scarborough project is moving ahead since provincial funding through Metrolinx was already in place.

With 75,000 full-time jobs lost in Ontario last month, McGuinty has been taking heat on the employment issue.

Much of the work being done now on the LRT is preparatory. The tunnel borers won't actually start digging until next year. Workers are currently assembling the giant, custom-built machines.

When finished in 2020, the Eglinton-Scarborough line will eventually stretch 25 kilometres from Jane Street and Black Creek Drive in the west end to Kennedy Station in the east.

The line will be partially elevated between Kennedy and Scarborough Town Centre, much like the Scarborough Rapid Transit Line. The trains on that line are considered obsolete.

There will be 26 stations on the finished Eglinton-Scarborough line. It is predicted to be 60 per cent faster than current travel by bus along Eglinton.

Metrolinx, the provincial agency which co-ordinates public transit in the Golden Horseshoe, is paying for the project.

The Globe and Mail reported Monday that the line is facing some engineering challenges if it attempts to cross Black Creek and the Don River underground.

Metrolinx has said bridges might be the answer.

There is a divergence of views on City Council.

One councillor suggested that existing infrastructure, such as the Eglinton Avenue East bridge over the Don River, could be used for the LRT.

At least one left-wing councillor felt the entire plan should revert back to its Transit City design. The former would see much of the line constructed above ground.

Putting the entire line underground already pushed costs up by $3.6 billion or 80 per cent, the report said.