PA: Freedom Tower rising
By Marlene Naanes, amNewYork Staff Writer
MNaanes@am-ny.com
July 27, 2007
The steel skeleton of the tallest building to replace the Twin Towers in the skyline will begin to soar next year, the Port Authority said.
"Progress at the Freedom Tower is moving rapidly forward," said Steven Plate, the authority's capital program director.
About 43,000 tons of steel will be used for the skeleton in the $76 million portion of the project authorized by the authority's board Thursday.
So far, contractors have poured nearly 10,000 cubic yards of concrete for the building's foundation and erected the initial structural steel columns for the tower, which will rise 1,776 feet and be completed in 2010. Five towers will eventually rise at the new World Trade Center.
The board also approved a $46 million project to build supportive walls for the museum, memorial and original World Trade Center site slurry wall. The support structure will allow museum visitors to see the original wall, which keeps the Hudson River from seeping into the site.
The board also approved a $13 million project to install 3-foot concrete-filled steel posts around some LaGuardia and Newark Liberty airport terminals to prevent vehicles from crashing into or driving explosives inside the buildings.
The first posts will be constructed by the end of the year around LaGuardia's Marine Air Terminal and Newark's Terminal B.
The authority will eventually construct posts around all 16 of the agency's owned and leased terminals.
The attack on Glasgow airport earlier this year didn't prompt the project, said authority Executive Director Anthony Shorris, "but obviously Glasgow reminds the importance of moving this forward."
Copyright 2007 Newsday Inc.