9/11 memorial construction continues moving forward

Above: Two photographs show the ongoing construction of the 9/11 Memorial with the first (left) displaying the beginning steps of reconstruction at the World Trade Center site in 2007, while the second photo shows the site as it looks today.  (Photos by Joe Woolhead)

Since construction officially began on the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in 2006, the World Trade Center site has transformed.

Where one used to see mostly mounds of dirt and tons of construction equipment, now two structurally defined Memorial pools are visible along with construction on One World Trade Center, the skyscraper commonly known as the Freedom Tower.

The photograph on the left, above, shows an aerial view of 9/11 Memorial construction in August 2007.  At that time, 580 metric tons of jumbo steel l-beams, to be used for the memorial and museum, had just arrived at the Port of Savannah, Ga., after a 4,000-mile journey from Luxembourg in central Europe.  The steel didn’t officially arrive on site until later that year.  More than 8,000 tons of steel are being used to construct the 9/11 Memorial and 100 percent of the steel has since been installed at the site.

The photograph on the right, taken last month by resident photographer Joe Woolhead, shows the highly anticipated construction of the North and South memorial pools, where dark granite panels are currently being placed.  The pools are about an acre in size, and they are situated within the footprints of the original towers.  Ten large pumps will create 40 pounds of pressure to circulate 52,000 gallons of water per minute for the artificial waterfalls.  These will be the largest man-made waterfalls in the country.

The 9/11 Memorial will open Sept. 11, 2011.

By Meghan Walsh, Communications Associate for the 9/11 Memorial