• OWNER: Port Authority of NY&NJ, NYC
  
• CONSTRUCTION MANAGERS: Bovis Lend Lease LMB Inc., NYC; AMEC, NYC; Turner Construction Co./Plaza Construction Co., a joint venture, NYC; Tully Construction Co., Flushing, NY
  
• DESIGN ENGINEER: LZA Technology/Thornton-Tomasetti Engineers, NYC
  
• SLURRY WALL CONTRACTOR & ENGINEER: Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers, NYC
  
• PROGRAM MANAGER: New York City Department of Design & Construction, Long Island City, NY

It was a time of clarity, honor and pride. Those involved in the cleanup of the World Trade Center (WTC) site had a clear vision of what needed to be done and how it needed to be done. They approached the project with honor and pride and through their efforts helped to create a more positive image of the construction industry and those who are a part of it.

Those involved in the cleanup systematically removed the debris, stablized the slurry wall and cleared the way for a 16-acre site to be adapted for a memorial and new construction.

The project actually began on Sept. 11, 2002 and was completed on July 1, 2002, well ahead of its original 12-month estimate and at a cost of approximately $550 million - well below its initial $1 billion estimate.

A Dignified Recovery

The primary concern, at all times, was rescuing survivors. Once it became clear that there were very few survivors, the team then proceeded with a dignified recovery of remains. The project was never a straightforward demolition and debris removal project. Work went on 24 hours a day, seven days a week and hour by hour, day by day, activity needed careful coordination.

Quickly, the site became a well-organized deployed mobilization - one of the biggest in U.S. history. Within a week, the Federal Emergency Management Agency allowed New York to cleanup New York. Throughout the tri-state region, equipment, demolition experts, crane operators and other specialists and material and service suppliers all came together for a common cause - and they stayed until the job was done.

All of Ground Zero was considered a hazardous work environment. In fact, because the site was constrained, the number and size of the heavy construction equipment that operated during the project created a potentially dangerous working environment. To maintain a safe site, a protocol was developed and implemented that established the maximum number of uniformed personnel that could be "on the pile" at any given time. A procedure was also implemented to ensure that the demolition and debris removal work could proceed safely while remains were extracted and then identified in a dignified manner.

No Fatalities

In spite of the number of people and heavy construction equipment that worked in close proximity 24 hours a day, the work was completed without one fatality or career-ending injury.

Debris removal was a priority. To facilitate it, two new piers were dredged to allow debris to be barged to the Fresh Kills landfill, which was re-opened temporarily to serve as a sorting operation. To dispose of the large volume of steel pulled from the debris, the city entered into contracts with steel recycling firms, who cleaned the steel, cut it up and recycled the material.

Had the slurry wall not be stablized, flooding of the six-story subbasement would have resulted, endangering the lives lives of rescuers and construction workers. This flooding would also have undermined adjacent streets and utilities and dramatically increase the complexity of the project as well as the time with which to complete it.

To stabilize the slurry wall, subsurface engineers climbed through the debris into the "bathtub" from the earliest days of the project to assess the wall's condition. When the towers collapsed, the lateral support that had been provided by the basement parking structures was removed and the debris - which was in the process of being removed - was now providing the lateral support.

The concern that the slurry wall would fail existed throughout the debris removal process. To wall was stabilized using tieback anchors that were installed as debris was removed. The tieback anchors provided the necessary lateral support. Over 900 tieback anchors were eventually installed. And, at one point, fill was poured into the southern portion of the bathtub to stabilize a port of the slurry wall that was thought to be in danger of failure. Aggressive monitoring of the slurry wall continued through the course of the project.

On May 28, 2002, the last steel girder was cut and hauled off in an emotional ceremony. It was difficult for many to leave the site. And, while the site was turned over to the Port Authority of NY&NJ which is continuing to have work done at Ground Zero, many who worked and literally lived downtown and those who lost loved ones, still seek closure. For some, it many never come.

According to the jury, "this project, along with the below-grade slurry wall stabilization, represents an industry-wide effort against overwhelming challenges. The industry should be proud of the accomplishment in cleaning up Ground Zero and rebuilding neighboring structures that were damaged better than they were before. This is a project, from its first hero volunteers to its project team members, that has helped change the image of this industry and the people in it. For this, we will be forever proud."