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Foundation work continues for the September 11th Memorial
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From the Freedom Tower and National 9/11 Memorial to the WTC Transportation Hub and east bathtub -- across all four corners the World Trade Center (WTC) site is buzzing with activity. The latest progress report for the famed 16 acres was delivered to Community Board 1 by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey on October 1st.
Quentin Brathwaite, the agency's assistant director of priority capital programs, began his update on the site's east side. There, slurry wall installation is complete at the southeast corner (Liberty and Church Streets), and crews continue installing the massive 70- to 110-foot-long slurry wall panels at the north end of the bathtub (Vesey at Church Streets). Excavation of the east bathtub now is underway, and in the southern half approximately 40 percent of the soil has already been removed.
"We're very pleased with the progress we've made in the past three months," Braithwaite said. He added that crews currently are working two eight-hour shifts but may increase work hours to stay on schedule. The goal is to complete the south portion of the east bathtub by December 31, 2007, when Silverstein Properties will take over for construction of WTC Towers Three and Four. Construction of Tower Two will follow later in 2008.
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| Heavy construction is underway throughout the site |
East bathtub excavation also allows Port Authority crews to begin building the $2.2 billion WTC Transportation Hub. For that project, a new temporary PATH station entrance opened in July on Church Street, enabling crews to dismantle the former entrance structure. In early 2008, the entrance again will be relocated to Vesey Street at West Broadway, where it will remain until architect Santiago Calatrava's WTC Transportation Hub opens in 2011.
Meanwhile, much progress has been made on the transportation hub's "east-west connector" on the west side of the WTC. Port Authority crews are pouring concrete to form the future pedestrian tunnel, which will link the WTC with the World Financial Center.
The agency is closely coordinating excavation and utility work with state Department of Transportation's West Street Promenade Segment 2 project and has shifted traffic lanes on West Street to accommodate the work.
At the WTC's northwest corner, Port Authority crews continue building the steel-and-concrete base from which the 1,776-foot-tall Freedom Tower will rise. The tower's steel superstructure should be at grade by second quarter 2008, on the way to the tower's 2011 opening.
Just south of the Freedom Tower, foundation work for the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum will conclude by the end of this year. Steel installation is planned for early 2008, on schedule for the memorial's 2009 opening.
Regarding the Vesey Street staircase, Braithwaite said that the Port Authority is awaiting a decision from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) about its future. The staircase is one of the only remaining elements from the original WTC site. The LMDC, he said, has jurisdiction over the staircase as part of the redevelopment master plan.
Additionally, Braithwaite said that plans for the WTC's Vehicular Security Center continue, and it is not yet clear how the delay of 130 Liberty Street's deconstruction will impact construction of Tower Five.
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