Construction Begins at Ground Zero

My Way News - Construction Begins at Ground Zero: "By AMY WESTFELDT


NEW YORK (AP) - After months of disputes over the future of ground zero, state and city officials finally brought in the heavy equipment and began construction Thursday on the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower that will rise at the World Trade Center site.

'It is going to be a symbol of our freedom and independence,' Gov. George Pataki said after three yellow construction trucks - driven by workers wearing hard hats emblazoned with the American flag and the words 'Freedom Tower, World Trade Center' - rolled down a ramp to applause from politicians.

The project has been held up by bickering between city and state agencies and the project's chief developer, and by objections, mostly from Sept. 11 family members, to the design of the trade center memorial.

But a breakthrough came this week when the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the site, reached an agreement with developer Larry Silverstein, who held the lease on the twin towers."