World Trade Center site, January 2010 (photo courtesy Silverstein Properties)

At this month’s Community Board 1 World Trade Center (WTC) Committee meeting, the Port Authority reported that progress inside the site is clearer than ever, with structural steel installation rapidly going up in three corners of the site.

The quarterly update was presented by the Port’s Assistant Director of WTC Construction Quentin Brathwaite. He said that 95 percent of steel is in place at the National 9/11 Memorial, where concrete is being poured to form the plaza and twin reflecting pools. Utility work, remaining structural work, and permanent stairway construction are taking place there below grade. Brathwaite confirmed that the Memorial will be accepting its first visitors on the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

On the Memorial’s north side, the steel superstructure of 1 World Trade Center is making constant visible progress having reached 155 feet. Those base floors will serve the buildings mechanicals, with actual tenant floors 20 through 90 which will begin rise in February. Meanwhile, 4 WTC’s steel superstructure also has been going up steadily since late December 2009.

The construction at 1 WTC is being coordinated with several sub-grade components of the WTC Transportation Hub. The pedestrian underpass on the tower’s south side is taking its final form with steel “ribs” now in place to form the tunnel, while east of the tower the Port has brought in a new crane to help with steel installation over the PATH station. Modifications inside that station are also visible, as crews protect rider areas from work areas for the permanent station, including structural steel work.

Excavation below the 1 subway box that travels through the WTC site continues. Crews from contractor Tutor Perini are supporting the box while digging beneath it, making room for the pedestrian tunnel to link to the main Hub building in the east bathtub. A giant crane is expected to be installed over the 1 box soon, so massive steel members can be lifted from surrounding streets into place for the Hub’s main building.

The South Bathtub excavation continues, with Port Authority crews working with the state Department of Transportation to reconfigure the Liberty Street pedestrian bridge. Preliminary work for the bridge’s relocation began recently and is expected to take several weeks, after which the Port will be able to complete its south bathtub construction.

Brathwaite also said that his Office of Program Logistics continues to perform quality-of-life improvements for both the short and long term. Working with Sam Schwarz Engineering to help maintain and improve traffic flow and crossings in the vicinity, the Port is looking to accommodate increased trucking -- expected to peak in 2011. It also is exploring options for bus access and parking for the WTC site.

Responding to a board member’s question, Brathwaite had no update on when the arbitration decision is expected, now that the Port Authority and Silverstein Properties arguments about the three east-side towers’ financing have been heard. He iterated that the judges are not bound by a deadline, and that all parties are “anxiously awaiting the decision.”