The Freedom Tower

Concrete poured for base of Freedom Tower

A moment many have waited so long for

  By: Stacey Sager

At Ground Zero Saturday, it was a moment so many have waited for so long.
Eyewitness News reporter Stacey Sager has the story of the rebuilding.

It's hard to even imagine just what goes into making a new skyscraper, but today as dozens of mixing trucks moved into action at Ground Zero and workers began pouring concrete.

For the first time in more than five years, it became clear that at least the physical void is being filled.

"The governor has often said that what we're doing here is not just for the city but for the country and for the world to show our resilience in the after September 11th," New York Governor's Chief of Staff, John Cahill, said.

It has been an emotional journey. From that terrible day, the slow and controversial years of planning went into this Freedom Tower. It will eventually stand 1,776 feet tall. A tribute to the year our declaration of independence was drafted.

It is intended to be the tallest building in the world. But there are many more steps in this construction process before we start to see the new Freedom Tower actually rising from its foundation.

"You'll start seeing concrete come above the foundations," Mel Ruffini from Tishman Construction said. "By mid '08, you'll see a structure of the street level."

While redevelopment has been a difficult subject for some relatives of those who were killed on 9/11, many of the visitors at Ground Zero now see it this way.

"It is important to stand up and say we're here and we're not afraid," a visitor said to Eyewitness News.

"It's a new beginning for everyone in the world," Ground Zero visitor, Jennifer Braun, said. "My heart goes out to those families, still we think about them every day."

So symbolically, each step in the process has taken on meaning. Even though, it will be years before the Freedom Tower is complete.

(Copyright 2006 WABC-TV)