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NEW YORK---The first steel columns for the Freedom Tower are now in place as construction on the tower continues. The columns were produced in Luxembourg and fabricated in Lynchburg, Virginia. The Freedom Tower was designed by David Childs and is one of the signature elements of the Libeskind Master Plan, all of which are currently under construction on the World Trade Center site.
"The soaring tower that begins its 1,776-foot ascension today will for generations to come, stand as tangible proof of the transcendent power of freedom", Gov. George Pataki said. "The Freedom Tower will be an unmistakable symbol that this great nation will never surrender or succumb to the forces of tyranny and oppression. It will be an international icon-- an inspiring reminder that freedom is not the product of America's strength, it is the source of it-- we are not free because we are strong, we are strong because we are free. Today, America's strength is evident in these columns of steel -- the footings for the great monument to freedom that is rising on this hallowed site."
Six additional columns will be installed by the end of this year. An additional tier of columns will be raised on top of the initial columns by mid-January bringing the columns heights to over 65 feet tall and nearly to grade. The first lift of all 27 jumbo columns that form the perimeter will be installed in the spring as the tower's core is built. This shipment of steel is the first of what ultimately will be 45,000 tons of steel that will be used to build the Freedom Tower.
The Freedom Tower, World Trade Center Memorial and the Transportation Hub are all under construction. Excavation work on the Freedom Tower is nearly complete and concrete pours are over half way through. Blasting and excavation on the Memorial and Memorial Museum is underway. On the Transportation Hub, concrete foundation work is well underway along with a majority of the casings for the minipile underpinnings. Water mains have been installed and utilities have been relocated, and work on the west bathtub and north/south shear wall is ongoing. The slurry wall construction for the east bathtub is also in progress.
The 1,776-foot-tall Freedom Tower will include 2.6 million square feet of office space, tenant amenity spaces, an observation deck, restaurants, and broadcast and antennae facilities. Below-grade retail and access to the PATH rapid-transit system and the World Financial Center will also be provided. The Freedom Tower will be complete in 2011.
In July of this year approximately 805 tons of steel were produced in Differdange, Luxembourg to create the first 27 "extra-large" steel columns for the Freedom Tower. Arcelor, one of the world's largest steel companies, produced the massive steel columns. The columns weigh 730 pounds per foot and range in length from 30 to 56 feet for shipping.
In August, the steel columns were shipped by vessel from Antwerp, Belgium. Four different ships made the trans-Atlantic voyage to deliver the columns to two port cities, Portsmouth, Virginia and Camden, New Jersey where they were then transported to the fabricator, Banker Steel Company, L.L.C. of Lynchburg, Virginia. There, the steel was fabricated into "built-up" columns by welding plates to their sides, forming columns that weigh up to 2,440 pounds per foot. From start to finish, the steel has traveled approximately 4,700 miles.
The installation of the giant steel columns capped off a year in which major progress was made to redevelop the World Trade Center site. The key milestone to accelerating construction on the site occurred in April, when the Port Authority Board of Commissioners approved a framework proposal with World Trade Center developer Larry Silverstein that realigned roles and responsibilities at the site. Under the agreement, Silverstein Properties will continue to build Towers 2, 3 and 4. Silverstein Properties surrendered its lease rights for the Freedom Tower and Tower 5 to the Port Authority. Construction on the entire site is expected to be completed by as early as 2012, including Towers 1 through 4, the retail, the Calatrava Transportation Hub and the Memorial. The agreement ensures the completion of the Freedom Tower and expedites the rebuilding of the entire WTC site, in particular the Church Street corridor, which will return ground level retail to Lower Manhattan restoring street life and economic vitality to the area.
In July, the Port Authority agreed to assume responsibility for construction of the World Trade Center Memorial. The agency's Board finalized that agreement at its Dec. 14 meeting. Construction of the memorial's footings and foundation began in August.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey operates many of the busiest and
Renderings of the Freedom Tower are available at www.wtc.com
12-19-06
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© 2006 North
Country Gazette
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