SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS AT THE WORLD TRADE CENTER SITE SINCE THE LAST VISIT BY PRESIDENT OBAMA IN 2008

Date: May 04, 2011
Press Release Number: 23-2011

President Obama last visited the World Trade Center site in September 2008.

Since that time, the site has changed dramatically. One World Trade Center is now a fixture in the New York skyline, the two signature reflecting pools for the 9/11 Memorial are complete, the iconic steel arches for the World Trade Center Transportation Hub mezzanine have been installed underground and 3,000 skilled workers pour over the site every day.

Most importantly, the 9/11 Memorial is on track to open for the 10th anniversary later this year.

The following is the status of construction of the various components on the 16-acre World Trade Center site.

9/11 Memorial

• Signature reflecting pools are complete.
• More than 150 trees have been planted on the Memorial Plaza.
• Steel installation for the Museum’s Visitor’s Center is complete, and installation of glass cladding is under way and will be completed by 9/11/11.

One World Trade Center

• Steel has risen to the 64th floor, 771 feet above street level, and rising one floor per week.
• Installation of the glass curtain wall has risen to the 34th floor
• Installation of concrete floors has risen to the 57th floor

WTC Transportation Hub

• The Hub Connector – the underground passageway linking the Hub to the World Financial Center – is complete.
• Steel installation for the PATH mezzanine level – which will serve as the floor for the 9/11 Memorial above it – is nearly complete.
• The passageway under the No. 1 subway box that will link the PATH mezzanine to the Hub’s main concourse is nearing completion.

Towers 2, 3 and 4

• 4 World Trade Center has risen from bedrock, 80 feet below street level, to the 23rd floor, 355 feet above street level. It is now rising one floor per week. The lobby is built and the first glass panels are now on the exterior of the building.
• The foundations for 2 World Trade Center and 3 World Trade Center have been completed and work continues on underground retail, transportation access and mechanical systems. These buildings are expected to reach street level by the end of the year.

CONTACT:

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

Steve Coleman, 212 435-7777

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which is self-sufficient and does not receive tax dollars from either state, operates many of the busiest and most important transportation links in the region. They include John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International, LaGuardia, Stewart International and Teterboro airports; AirTrain JFK and AirTrain Newark; the George Washington Bridge and Bus Station; the Lincoln and Holland tunnels; the three bridges between Staten Island and New Jersey; the PATH (Port Authority Trans-Hudson) rapid-transit system; Port Newark; the Elizabeth-Port Authority Marine Terminal; the Howland Hook Marine Terminal on Staten Island; the Brooklyn Piers/Red Hook Container Terminal; the Port Authority-Port Jersey Marine Terminal and the Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown Manhattan. The agency also owns the 16-acre World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan.