Building milestone marked as city remembers 9/11.

New York and New Jersey's top political brass were in attendance for the groundbreaking of the Santiago Calatrava designed WTC transportation hub last week, a turnout that underscored the importance of what is Ground Zero's first construction project since the temporary Path station was erected there in 2003.

People "will come here to hear the story of 9/11 and yet, as we make the focal point remembering, we also have a commitment to making this a vibrant community," said New York State Governor George Pataki, on a podium backed by a huge American flag at the northwest corner of the sunken WTC Bathtub. "This transportation hub will be the centerpiece of that."

Joining Pataki was New Jersey Governor Richard Codey, all four U.S. senators from New Jersey and New York, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Port Authority Chairman Anthony R. Coscia and Vice Chairman Charles Gargano, U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, LMDC Chairman Stephan Pryor, as well as Calatrava.

According to official estimates, the new WTC station will serve roughly 80,000 commuters a day, a number that could more than double by 2020, and create 10,000 construction jobs. In addition to housing six Path tracks, one more than the current station's, the hub will also provide access to 11 subway lines running through downtown and could provide a link with JFK Airport in the future--transportation improvements that could attract more businesses downtown.

"The new WTC transit hub will be an economic engine ... that will bring jobs to the region," Codey said.

"It's impossible to overstate the criticality of this project," Gargano said. Without it, downtown "would fall far short of its potential economic activity. It will attract large employers and ancillary businesses."

The $2.2 billion project, slated for completion in 2009, will be mainly funded by federal organization the Department of Transportation. The Port Authority, which oversaw the design of the station, is contributing $300 million. Although the station was originally estimated to have a slightly lesser cost, Port Authority spokesman Steve Coleman indicated that the increase came when $200 million was tacked onto the budget to cover work on the east wall of the Bathtub. According to Coleman, the project was granted more money because that work coincides with necessary modifications to the east wall that will be necessary for construction of a vehicle security center and bus parking area planned as parts of a WTC underground garage. "It was much easier to fold that work into this project," Coleman said.

In addition to improving future transportation to the downtown area, construction of the transportation hub could perhaps also play a role in dispelling a perception of inactivity at the Ground Zero site. Last April, when a security report issued by the NYPD spurred a redesign of the Freedom Tower, criticism erupted over the sense of stagnancy that had seemingly gripped the site.

So far, of the many commercial office towers planned for the site, not even the Freedom Tower has an announced starting date for construction. The Calatrava designed station underwent a makeover itself in the wake of the NYPD's security concerns. Concrete will replace what was originally designed to be a row of four-foot high glass panels encircling the structure's base.