Tuesday, August 31, 2010

The Rebuilding of Ground Zero, Part 114

The Port Authority has released its second quarter milestone updates, and among them are updates about the memorial construction, Freedom Tower construction, and excavations for ongoing projects. The report also indicates several milestones that should be achieved by October, including the following:
National September 11 Memorial & Museum
Plaza Finishes Begin
This milestone represents the placement of infrastructure and systems supporting
the final Memorial Plaza and Trees. This sequence includes the installation of
waterproofing, concrete, masonry walls, soil, irrigation and electrical systems; as
well as final pavements, furnishings and landscaping.
Start Phase 2 of Plaza Construction
This area, originally totaling 38% of the overall plaza area has been resequenced
to allow over 50% of the Memorial Plaza to start being brought to final
grade/finishes. The capture of more Plaza area earlier will reduce risk for the
delivery of the plaza area for 9/11/11 and was enabled by the changing of the
means and methods of the steel, concrete and curtain wall installation for the
Memorial Pavilion.
Complete Concrete Pavers in the North Fountain
The Concrete Pavers form the visible floor of the North Fountain and provide
protection to the waterproofing layer below.
The report also indicates the pace and method of construction of the Freedom Tower. Steel erection continues while the steel decking follows shortly behind. Concrete pours to finish floors follows several floors below. Once the concrete floors are finished, fireproofing is to commence and curtain walls can be built.

The report also mentions several areas in which the construction didn't meet milestones, the most notable of which are related to construction of the PATH terminal.

While this isn't mentioned in the report, it is notable that a third tower crane was erected on the edge of the Freedom Tower's NW corner to provide additional lift capacity. It was built several stories above street level and hangs off the building from a purpose built platform.

No comments: