This project should never have been handled as just another development. It is the graveyard of thousands of innocent American citizens who were just trying to do their jobs that day. Something spectacular should have been built for the entire world to see. An iconic structure that would be the pride of our entire nation should be there now. In regards to this "project" our country looks impotent {instead of important} to the rest of the world.

Buildings such as the Burj Khalifa in Dubai were built using slave labor from places like India and the Philippines. They were housed in tin cities with little running water and worked from dawn to sunset. They often went weeks without being paid and their passports were taken to prevent them from "escaping."

In NYC, the opposite happens. Breaks must be taken. Carpenters cannot screw in light bulbs. Electricians cannot remove nails.

It should be pretty obvious why its taking so long to build. UNIONS.
Last time I checked, they worked 4 hour days and had 8 breaks. Whereas th poor saps overseas most definitely work more than 8 hour days.
Also, the construction workers in Dubai receive 100-200 bucks a month. Here, Obama's lackeys earn (I substituted Mass. worker pay) $28/hr (including benefits) more than nonunion. If a nonunion construction workers makes around $14/hr then one of these guys brings home $6700 a month. That is equivalent to about 45 construction workers overseas.

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I agree. The Empire State Building was built in just over a year and that was the early 1930's........I mean c'mon!

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Granted there are somewhat unique challenges involved, including many political hurdles, but the fact that nothing stands on that location today is a national disgrace IMHO.

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The buildings in Dubai don't have to build a foundation above three active subway lines, a giant bathtub, or have to ship all the materials the Hudson River.

1 WTC should have been 5 years ago. what is taking so long. In China or Dubai, they can build a floor every three days?

One World Trade Center Hits the 20th Floor

http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2010/ ... -rises-above-ground-zero/

New Yorkers have lived with a gaping hole where the towers of the World Trade Center once stood for nearly nine years. Construction has moved at such a slow pace that it may prove difficult to adjust to a new phenomenon at Ground Zero: the visible rise of a skyscraper.

A closer look at the site reveals a structure ? albeit a rudimentary one ? slowly rising from the ground. As the New Yorker?s Lauren Collins writes, by mid-May construction crews had reached the 20th floor of One World Trade Center, the 1,776-foot-tall edifice that will be the centerpiece of the new Ground Zero. That, according to Collins, is ?the point beyond which the rest of the stories are easily replicated.?

The goal is to build a new floor every ten days and complete construction of a memorial in time for the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks.

Financial concerns and disagreements between developer Larry Silverstein and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey have paralyzed the Ground Zero rebuilding efforts for years. In March, the two sides came to an agreement, yet construction still seemed to lag.

A major reason: the PATH train continues to run beneath the area where the building is being constructed, thereby slowing the process.

Another factor: bureaucracy. As Collins writes:?Nineteen public agencies, two developers, a hundred and one contractors, and thirty-three architects have stakes in the World Trade Center redevelopment project.?

The Port Authority is set to decide later this month between two major developers ? the Durst Organization and Related Cos. ? who are vying for the contract to manage and market the building. And the One World Trade center has already attracted interest from a high-profile tenant: Conde Nast. The publishing giant is in talks to fill as much as one million square feet.

Architecture, Ground Zero, NYNews, NYRealEstate, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Real Estate, September 11th

That is a great idea, I hope it is still going on for my home commute! I am sick of working and ready for a thug lifestyle.

Should have let yourself get hit and burned and then sued for $7 million.

It's definitely a dangerous situation. I'd hate to be on the lower platform during rush hour when a fire breaks out. They should have much wider platforms and stairs to accommodate the crowds and fully block off and ventilate the construction.

I understand the difficulty of the project and appreciate being able to get to work while construction continues, but right now that setup is whack.

This morning at the apex of the 2nd to last stairwell at the WTC path station there was a shower of glowing welding particulate raining down from above. As usual, lines to go up the stairs were stacked up, so commuters unfortunate enough to already be up the dangerous staircase had no option to turn around and go back down. They would wait on the stairs for the neon trickle to stop, then dodge through.

Many passengers reported the hazard to PATH workers, PATH police, and construction crews who seemed less than responsive.