At the groundbreaking ceremony for WTC Transportation Hub, Gov. Pataki refers to its bird-like image

The imminent arrival of the fourth anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attack comes at a time when major steps in the rebuilding process are getting underway. In the past few weeks alone, officials announced that Goldman Sachs will build its corporate headquarters in Battery Park City and construction officially began on the Fulton Street Transit Hub. And on September 6, Gov. George Pataki, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Sen. Hillary Clinton, and other city, state, and federal officials gathered for a groundbreaking ceremony for the new World Trade Center Transportation Hub.

"This is a momentous occasion for the World Trade Center site and for the rebirth of Lower Manhattan," Pataki said before a crowd gathered in the World Trade Center site. "Today we launch construction of a new iconic transportation facility -- an architectural marvel and a grand terminal that ultimately will serve a quarter of a million people each day traveling to work, to view the memorial, or to other cultural destinations."

When completed in 2009, the hub will connect PATH trains, all downtown subways, and ferries at a cost of more than $2.2 billion. The Federal Transit Administration has committed approximately $1.92 billion toward the project, and the remaining $300 million will be paid by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the World Trade Center site and operates the PATH rail system.

Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, who also spoke at the ceremony, designed the building in the shape of a bird in flight. In January 2004, when he unveiled his initial design concept, Calatrava said that he drew his inspiration from the image of a child releasing a bird. That image -- evoking freedom and rebirth -- came to life at the end of the ceremony when Calatrava's daughter, Sophia, released two white doves into the blue sky above the site where the Twin Towers once stood.

"Santiago Calatrava's awe-inspiring design of a child releasing a bird into the air represents the hope and promise of a World Trade Center reborn out of the ashes of September 11," Bloomberg said. "Connecting 11 subway lines to PATH and ferry service, this transportation hub will provide the infrastructure necessary to attract businesses, workers, and residents to Lower Manhattan. With the governor's leadership, and with the cooperation of our partners in the Port Authority and the federal government, our vision for a revitalized Lower Manhattan is becoming a reality."

Santiago Calatrava drew his inspiration for the design of the WTC Transportation Hub from the image of a child releasing a bird

Inside the station, Calatrava designed the underground concourse, mezzanine, and platform levels to be free of vertical columns for a greater sense of light, movement, and openness. This feeling of openness will be further magnified by a retractable ceiling -- an architectural feature most common to sports arenas -- planned for use on sunny days and annually on September 11. As part of Calatrava's revisions, the ceiling will open to 30 feet wide, instead of the original 45 feet.

Following the groundbreaking ceremony, at which dignitaries also signed a piece of rail that will be installed in the transportation hub, construction crews are set to build a retaining wall to the west of a temporary track to be used during construction of the terminal. The temporary track will allow work to take place while PATH service continues. Additional site preparation work will be done through the remainder of this year. Construction on the terminal's east/west concourse and the excavation of the east side of the site for the transit hall is scheduled to begin in 2006.

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