|
contents | news | |||||||||
| Steel for Freedom Tower arrives in America  The first jumbo steel columns for the Freedom Tower, some as long as a five-story building and weighing a total of 806 tons, arrived in the U.S. from a Luxembourg mill where they were produced. The announcement was made by World Trade Center Developer Larry A. Silverstein, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Executive Director Kenneth J. Ringler Jr., and Tishman Construction Corporation Chairman Daniel R. Tishman. The last of four shipments arrived in Baltimore aboard the Atlantic Conveyor.The latest steel to arrive, along with two previous loads that arrived at Portsmouth and one at Camden, New Jersey – totaling 51 extra-large columns of various weights and lengths – are being trucked to a fabrication yard in Lynchburg, Virginia. There, fabricator Banker Steel L.L.C., will weld cover plates to the sides of the steel, forming "built-up" columns that measure up to 42 by 30 inches in cross-section, and weigh upwards of 2,440 pounds per foot. In industry jargon, "built-up" refers to steel columns or girders that are created by the addition of steel plates to already large I-beams, resulting in single entities which cannot be produced in mills because of their size but which are required for the world's biggest structures. The fabricated members leaving Lynchburg will eventually comprise the first 27 "extra-large" columns in Freedom Tower's below-grade structure and are scheduled to be delivered to the World Trade Center site by the end of the year. The total length of the steel's four-leg journey originating in Luxembourg and ending in New York City is approximately 4,700 miles. Four different ships made the trans-Atlantic voyages to deliver the columns, measuring 22.5 inches high by 18 inches wide, to two port cities, Portsmouth, VA, and Camden, NJ. Initially, the steel was transported by train from the Arcelor mill in Differdange, Luxembourg, where it was produced, before being loaded onto ships bound for America at the port of Antwerp, Belgium. Approximately 50,000 tons of steel in total will be used to build the Freedom Tower. It will soar a symbolic 1,776 feet and include 2.6 million square feet of office space, plus tenant amenity spaces, an observation deck, world-class restaurants, and broadcast and antennae facilities — all supported by above- and below-grade mechanical infrastructure for the building and its adjacent public spaces. Below-grade shopping and access to the New Jersey PATH and NYC subway trains, as well as to the World Financial Center, will also be provided. write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Construction News :: home page |