9/11 A Decade Later: Port Authority Downplays WTC Transit Hub's Rising Costs
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On Thursday, the Port Authority downplayed a report that the cost of the new World Trade Center Transit hub's price tag could be $400 million over budget, saying the project is on track. NY1's Bobby Cuza filed the following report. Of all the construction going on at the World Trade Center, the single most expensive item isn't one of the soaring new towers or the September 11th memorial, but rather a monumental new transit hall for the PATH train.
Currently budgeted at $3.4 billion, a recent report from a federal oversight agency suggested the cost could balloon to $3.8 billion.
"They did in fact identify certain risks where the project costs could increase," said Port Authority Executive Director Christopher Ward on Thursday.
Officials at the Port Authority, which is in charge of the project, believe they can hold construction costs down.
Some aspects of the design have been already scaled back over the years, including plans for a retractable roof.
However, costs have continued to escalate, requiring the Port Authority to dip into a contingency fund. Still, they insisted Thursday that further increases will not be necessary.
"With the measures that we’ve put in place, we are confident that our budget estimate will hold," said Ward.
The agency is confident the project will be completed as scheduled in late 2014, when it will serve as home to tens of thousands of PATH train commuters and feature underground connections to 11 different subway lines.
Port Authority officials also reported on Thursday that the steel on One World Trade Center has risen to 64 stories, or 773 feet above street level.
That means the tower has surpassed the nearby 7 World Trade Center and is now among the 20 tallest buildings in the city.