Cranes install base of spire at 1 WTC
NEW YORK Workers using two giant cranes on the 104th floor roof of 1 World Trade Center have installed the first piece of the spire that will make it the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.
The nearly 70-ton piece was brought to Manhattan last month by barge. It's the heaviest of 18 parts of the spire that will complete the 1,776-foot skyscraper symbolizing America's freedom.
Dozens of construction workers were on hand Tuesday as the massive, round piece of steel slowly descended into its socket.
Below, there's a view of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
Pieces of the spire arrived on a barge from New Jersey's Port Newark to New York in December. The trade center's director of construction, Steven Plate says the spire marks a post 9/11 milestone that signifies New York City is "better than ever."
CBS Station WCBS New York reported that it will take about three months to install the 408-foot spire.