Part Of Giant Spire That Will Top One WTC Arrives In Manhattan
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A major piece of the new One World Trade Center has arrived in New York City.
Part of the giant spire that will top the tower arrived by barge from New Jersey.
The spire is divided into 18 sections, weighing between 5 tons and more than 67 tons.
Half of the pieces were brought across New York Harbor from Port Newark on Tuesday. Workers will begin hoisting them on Wednesday.
"We'll have a large crane in the middle of the night move it from the barge over to the street onto a flatbed which will bring it down to the site. Weather permitting, we'll then raise it to its final location on top of the building," World Trade Center construction director Steven Plate told CBS 2's Maurice DuBois.
The nine pieces of the spire were brought by barge from Quebec, traveling 1,500 nautical miles to their final destination in lower Manhattan.
WCBS 880's Peter Haskell reports
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"Best way to describe it is it's like putting a candle on top of a cake," Plate told WCBS 880's Peter Haskell.
The pieces of the 408-foot-tall spire will be assembled on top of the soaring tower, something Plate called extreme engineering.
"Everything on this project is either cutting edge, state-of-the-art or something that's never been done before," Plate said.
When complete, the spire will allow the building to reach the symbolic height of 1,776 feet.
It was a family affair for two of the construction workers hoisting huge sections of the spire off the barge. Joseph Ricco and his grandfather Sam Ionato are working together on the WTC project.
"The group effort of pouring the first pour for the roof slab on One Wortld Trade Center, it's a tremendous achievement for all involved," Ricco told DuBois.
"This one, structural-wise, is 100 percent better," Ionato said. "This is all concrete."
Construction at the World Trade Center site had been halted after Superstorm Sandy left it and the National September 11 Memorial and Museum severely flooded.
Crews completed a massive pumping operation last month.
The Port Authority said it will take about three months to complete the installation of the spire.
One World Trade Center is already the tallest building in New York City. Upon its completion, the tower will become the tallest building in the western hemisphere and the third-tallest in the world.
