$1.2M federal grant to help fund Pa. 9/11 memorial

SHANKSVILLE, Pa. — The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded the National Park Service $1.2 million to finish work on an access road at the 9/11 Flight 93 Memorial in southwestern Pennsylvania.

The memorial in Shanksville marks the grounds where a hijacked United Airlines jet crashed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Investigators determined the hijackers likely planned to crash the plane in Washington, D.C., but were thwarted when the 40 passengers and crew fought back and the plane crashed as a result.

Each year, about 400,000 visitors to the memorial use the road.

A private group, the Flight 93 National Memorial Campaign, has said it still needs to raise about $5 million more to complete the entire memorial, which includes a learning center and a tower with 40 wind chimes.