>>>
we welcome you back to
ground zero
in
lower manhattan
. the new one
world trade center
building behind me formally known as
freedom tower
is still under construction. already reached to 80th floor. we were given a
private tour
of what will soon be the
tallest building
in this country.
>>
you have a little bit of your life and soul embedded in that building.
>>
we are moving on. we're making it bigger, better, and stronger.
>>
i feel like i've accomplished something really big.
>> reporter:
the men and women rebuilding
ground zero
understand their work is much more than a job. every bolt, every beam, every floor supports the weight of history. i begin my tour in the footprint of the ones
historic buildings
with architect. this forest of trees will grow 70 feet tall. all of them oak, except one. the
survivor tree
, pulled from the rubble at
ground zero
.
>>
it looks like it was a tree but it was nursed back to health. this try is thriving and surviving.
>> reporter:
when he was just 34, he beat out over 5,000 entrants in the
design competition
for the memorial. his winning vision set were the original towers once stood. 2 30-foot waterfalls
into darkness
, he calls it, we flekting absence. what do you want them to think as they look down in this?
>>
what i wanted to do is really create a place where people could have a moment of silence. emptiness, but emptiness full of meaning.
>>
can you show me a glircht of what it's going to look like?
>> reporter:
yet to be revealed are the victim's names engraved in panels surrounding the pools.
>>
here are some of the ladder companies.
>> reporter:
while the pools are meant to honor the dead, it's the building towering beside them, one
world trade center
that will honor the living.
>>
you look at this thing, you have another 30 floors to go but it's going up at a pace about a floor a week. right?
>>
incredible.
>>
how high are we going?
>>
the top, 76. i think it's going to give you a new sense of a new town town.
>>
i head up with
chris ward
, executive director of the
port authority
in new york and new jersey that oversees construction. what's being done to make it as safe as possible?
>>
well, what you're looking at is incredible soaring, beautiful lobby that has inherent in its design safety and security. this is a
blast wall
that was 18,000
pounds per square inch
in concrete, to stop anybody from bringing a truck bomb in. these
steel girders
are 60 feet tall and ways 70 tons. up we go. i want to say this is truly going to be the exclamation point of a new
york city
skyline.
>>
how tall is it going to be?
>>
all of the way up, it's going to be
1776
. to the roof it's going to be
1356
. it's going to be 3.2 million
square feet
. it will be the tallest skyscraper in
america
.
>> reporter:
touted as new
gold standard
in skyscrapers, the top half will be shaped like a perfect octagon, 20 floors of glass, it will also have some of the fastest elevators in the world. but all this comes at a cost. an estimated $3.2 billion and years of delays.
>>
they're doing an incredible job, and yet some people are going to say it's been ten years and they're surprised it's not done by now. how do you answer that?
>>
we have built the most complex public works project in
america
's history. this tower that we're going to be on was built on top of a
subway train
. they're working every single hour of every single day.
>> reporter:
and to move forward, they needed to put aside years of in fighting among politicians, designers, and the victim's family.
>>
68, turn right, when you do, look what you see.
>>
wow. wow. like an unobstructed view.
>>
this could be your
corner office
.
>> reporter:
unlike the old
world trade center
with a framework of external steel, this building rises to an armored concrete core. if something were to happen to that structure right there, it doesn't jeopardize the integrity of the building.
>>
exactly. it was designed to stop that cascading catastrophic failure that everybody saw on 9/11. okay. so we're now going to look at the outer stairways.
>>
comfort of home.
>>
yes. you have a problem with heights this is probably where the tour ends.
>>
yes.
>>
it's a workout to reach the top. a dizzying ladder winds upward. from now on we're on ladders?
>>
ladders.
>> reporter:
if you need a break you can duck into the subway, sandwich shop that is. it rises with the building. i'm buying lunch, guys. so come on, belly up, all right? there are over 3500 workers at
ground zero
. many of whom feel deeply connected to this site. brian lions came down town on 9/11 to find his kid brother michael, a firefighter, who never made it home. you've been down here basically every day since. why?
>>
at that moment i made a commitment to myself i wanted to find my brother, find
everybody else
, and rebuild this place bigger and better than everybody before. new
york city
and
america
can't be defeated.
>>
wow.
>>
76.
>>
right now.
>>
30 to go.
>>
wow. wow. that's a lot to think about.
>> reporter:
a soaring testament to our nation's resilience wrapped up in concrete, glass, and seals. the day you turn the key and they open this place, what do you think it's going to mean to not only new
york city
but
america
?
>>
i think it's going to be just an incredible statement of pride. this is what we do. we build, we recover, rwe create a place to live. that's who we are.
>>
quite a view from up there. the tower will be ready for business in
2013
. one
world trade center
already has two major tenants. they say they will have no problem filling the rest. we're going to be back on a friday morning right after
