Beam signed by Obama raised at World Trade Center

WAMC Northeast Public Radio | By Dave Lucas

Published August 3, 2012 at 5:05 AM EDT

A steel beam that was signed by President Barack Obama in June has been lifted into place on the 104th floor at One World Trade Center. WAMC's Dave Lucas reports.

A crane on top of the building lifted the beam from the ground Thursday after dozens of people, including construction workers and police officers, added their own signatures.

On June 14, Obama visited the skyscraper that's being built to replace the twin towers destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001.

The white beam contains the words "One World Trade Center" painted in blue. Obama wrote in marker: "We remember," ''We rebuild" and "We come back stronger!"

First lady Michelle Obama also signed it.

The beam is 35 feet long and weighs 11,000 pounds.

The skyscraper is expected to be completed in early 2014.

New York News

Dave Lucas

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.

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