July 5, 2010

A Forest of Construction Cranes At Ground Zero

I was walking past the former site of the World Trade Center recently when I noticed a veritable forest of construction cranes have sprung up there.  Work is moving full-speed ahead on the Memorial, the Museum, One World Trade Center (formerly the Freedom Tower) and Four World Trade Center.  The two new trade center buildings are visible above street level, with 1 WTC rising nearly 20 stories in an impressive framework of steel.  


On the 9/11 Memorial site, the outlines of the former WTC 1 and WTC 2 are now complete and the Memorial itself is scheduled to open on September 11, 2011.  You can read more about the plans for these on the WTC Memorial site.  There is also a temporary visitors center on 20 Vesey Street with models and timelines for the construction, as well as some tribute videos to the victims of the 9/11 attacks.


It's incredible that nearly 10 years after 9/11, this 10 plus acre plot is still a construction site.  But, after years of squabbling and confusion, things are actually moving forward now.  According to current plans, the new World Trade Center complex is scheduled to be complete by 2016.