Arrival of Freedom Tower's steel marks year of progress.

The first steel columns for the Freedom Tower were lowered into place last week during a ceremony attended by Governor George E. Pataki and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Port Authority officials, and other dignitaries.

Over 30 foot tall, the nearly 25-ton steel columns were bolted into place to form the southern portion of perimeter of 1,776 foot tall tower at World Trade Center site. The columns were produced in Luxembourg and fabricated in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Daniel R. Tishman, chairman of Tishman Construction Corporation, the construction manager for the Freedom Tower, said, "The erection of these steel columns is the result of thousands of hours of planning and hard work by hundreds of dedicated steel mill workers, architects, engineers, and construction workers. It is an honor and a privilege to be part of this great team leading New York's historic rebuilding effort and to follow in the footsteps of my father, John, who led the construction efforts of the Twin Towers for the Port Authority."

Six additional columns will be installed by the end of this year. An additional tier of columns will be raised on top of the initial columns by mid-January bringing the columns heights to over 65 feet tall and nearly to grade. The first lift of all 27 jumbo columns that form the perimeter will be installed in the spring as the tower's core is built. This shipment of steel is the first of what ultimately will be 45,(100 tons of steel that will be used to build the Freedom Tower.

In July of this year approximately 805 tons of steel were produced in Differdange, Luxembourg to create the first 27 "'extra large" steel columns for the Freedom Tower. Arcelor one of the world's largest steel companies, produced the massive steel columns that weigh 730 pounds per foot and range in length from 30 to 56 feet.

In August the steel columns were shipped by vessel from Antwerp, Belgium Four different ships made the trans-Atlantic voyage to deliver the columns to two port cities, Ports mouth. Virginia and Camden. New Jersey where they were then transported to the fabricator. Banker Steel Company, L.L.C. of Lynchburg, Virginia.

There, the steel was fabricated into "built-up" columns by welding plates to their sides, forming columns that weigh up to 2.440 pounds per foot. From start to finish, the steel has traveled approximately 4,700 miles.

The Freedom Tower, World Trade Center Memorial and the Transportation Hub are all under construction at the site. Excavation work on the Freedom Tower is nearly complete and concrete pours are over half way through. The Freedom Tower is scheduled to be complete in 2011.