The Tower 2 site excavation will exceed the scheduled completion date

Governor David Paterson yesterday called on the Port Authority’s Executive Director Chris Ward to deliver a complete assessment of the World Trade Center (WTC) rebuilding schedule and budget. The mandate was made following the Port’s announcement that the Tower 2 site will be turned over to developer Silverstein Properties later than the scheduled June 30th deadline.

“The rebuilding of the World Trade Center site is critical to New York City, the state and the nation,” Gov. Paterson wrote in a letter to Ward. “In the past two years the site has made progress -- from a virtual complete stop to a burgeoning construction site. Yet despite the progress made so far, it has become clear that the overall project faces likely delays and cost overruns.”

The governor asked that the audit account for the delay at the Tower 2 site, located at the north end of the east bathtub. Port Authority crews have worked to excavate that site -- as far below grade as 110 feet -- since winter 2008, installing the slurry wall and preparing it for Silverstein’s construction to begin this summer. The Port announced that the excavation will not be complete for several weeks beyond the deadline, as was the case at the Towers 3 and 4 site.

For the audit, Ward’s team must determine if the current Port Authority rebuilding schedules and cost estimates are “reliable and achievable.”

“If they are not,” the governor wrote, “I would like an evaluation of what viable alternatives exist to get the project back on track or whether we need to alter our targets to meet the reality on the ground. Any new schedule must reflect an aggressive but realistic approach to completing these vitally important projects.”

The Port Authority’s audit is due to Governors Paterson and Corzine by June 30th.

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