2008 In Review: Plans At WTC Site Examined, Scaled Back
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When plans for rebuilding the World Trade Center site were first announced, the sky was the limit. More than seven years later, many aspects of the plans have been scaled back. NY1's Rebecca Spitz takes a look back at the efforts to rebuild in 2008.Just because it's a construction site, it doesn't necessarily mean there's much under construction.
Yes, concrete is being poured and steel beams are going in, but seven years after the Twin Towers were destroyed by terrorists, the rebuilding effort remains a work in progress.
Frustrated by what seems to be unrealistic deadlines, Governor Paterson ordered the Port Authority to come up with a revamped timetable.
When it was released, it confirmed construction in the 16-acre site was both years behind schedule and more than a billion dollars over budget.
Officials promised to have the memorial finished by the 10th anniversary of the attacks but the iconic Freedom Tower's completion date has been pushed back to 2013.
The $3.2 billion dollar scaled down transit hub also isn't expected to open until 2014, five years after its original projected completion date.
While some are focusing whether and when buildings are going up, others are looking at what's coming back.
The survivors' staircase which led many to safety on September 11, 2001 was returned to the site in July. In December, the structure was moved to its permanent home outside the future memorial museum.
As for the museum itself, a section of the ramp that victims' families use to walk down to the pit has been readied for installation.
The 460-foot-long ramp was dismantled and removed, but part of it will be moved back when the museum is built around it.
In the meantime, visitors to the site are kept abreast of construction progress with a mesh covered fence showing recent photographs.
The site also received a high-profile visit from Pope Benedict XVI this year. His visit included the lighting of a memorial candle and a prayer service for victims' families.
The year 2008 is likely the last year that family members will be able to descend to the lower level, as construction starts to consume the site -- a development that does not sit well with victim's loved ones.
"Every year, everyone should be able to come down here, especially the family members, and go into the site," said Elaine Lyons, who lost her husband on September 11.