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Final pieces hoisted atop 1 World Trade Center

By Morgan Winsor, NEW YORK (CNN) — The last two sections of the 408-foot spire on One World Trade Center were finally hoisted on top of a temporary platfo...

By Morgan Winsor, NEW YORK (CNN) — The last two sections of the 408-foot spire on One World Trade Center were finally hoisted on top of a temporary platform on the structure Thursday morning, putting it firmly on its way to becoming the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.

Delivery of the final two sections was delayed by wind and rain, said Anthony Hayes, assistant director of media for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Final installation of the pieces will happen at a later date, officials said.

Thursday is the second anniversary of the death of Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the September 11, 2001, attacks that toppled the original World Trade Center towers.

But the timing of the delivery is coincidental.

The crowning pieces were supposed to be delivered Monday morning but had to be rescheduled because of bad weather, according to the Port Authority.

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The two pieces form a stainless steel beacon weighing almost 6 tons and will be the final piece put in place to give the building an iconic height of 1,776 feet, a statement from the Port Authority said.

Once the architectural structure is complete, it will contain 18 separate sections of steel and three communication rings. The first — and heaviest — steel section was installed in January, weighing more than 67 tons, the statement said.

Hayes said the original design for the structure included a radome — short for radar dome — but that was rejected because of anticipated servicing and maintenance difficulties. The radome would not have impacted the height, but would have provided an additional design element, which ultimately proved impractical, Hayes told CNN.

The spire will serve as an antenna for a television broadcast facility housed in One World Trade Center, Port Authority statement said.

While under construction, One World Trade Center became New York City’s tallest building a year ago, standing 1,271 feet above street level. The building then was 21 feet higher than the Empire State Building’s observation deck.

CNN’s Erinn Cawthon contributed to this report

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