What's happening with Freedom Tower construction?

On Friday, it will be the eighth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, but at Ground Zero, where the World Trade Centre once stood, relatively little has changed in the past few years.

After the attacks, grand plans were made for the area including the Freedom Tower, but six and a half years after the designs were revealed, relatively little has changed. Granted, construction is happening on one of the five proposed towers, but there still isn't a clear schedule for the construction of the other four.

Political wrangling, engineering complications and the recession pushed completion dates back and sent cost estimates up by billions of dollars since the first plans were released.

The main delay has been cited as a draft "risk analysis" that not only affects the Freedom Tower's construction plans, but also the site's transportation hub.

There has also been the well-documented conflict between Governor Paterson and developer Larry Silverstein, where the governor gave Silverstein an ultimatum over his lease to build three planned office towers. It was reported the governor said rebuilding at the 16-acre site would go ahead without him if necessary but Silverstein holds a 99-year lease on the Ground Zero site and holds development rights.

There is also a problem with the site of one of the towers - it is still covered by a skyscraper contaminated with toxic debris from the attacks, its dismantling slowed after a 2007 blaze killed two firefighters.

It is a far cry from the initial hope that came with the Freedom Tower's unveiling in 2003. A 1,776 feet high shining tower, it was mean to be the emotional heart of the Ground Zero projects and a memorial to those that died during the 9/11 attacks. However, the new delays might now not see it finished till 2018, 17 years after the attacks.

Like this article? Get the RSS feed: