Let Freedom rise

Located in Differdang, Luxembourg and one of the world's largest steel companies, Arcelor is producing the steel that will be used in the construction of the new Freedom Tower. Last summer the company produced approximately 805 tons of steel for the first 27 steel columns. The steel from which the columns would be fabricated weighed 730 pounds per foot and ranged in length from 30 to 56 feet for shipping.

The steel was trucked to Antwerp, Belgium, where it was loaded onto four ships and delivered to two US ports, Portsmouth, VA and Camden, NJ. After unloading, the steel was transported to Banker Steel Co. Based in Lynchburg, VA, Banker fabricated the steel into “built-up” columns. The company welded plates to the sides of each column, making their weight total about 2,440 pounds per foot. The columns were then trucked to the site.

In December 2006, the first columns were erected using a Liebherr LR 1200 lattice crawler crane, owned by Bay Crane. The crane assisted in the erection ofthe first 30 foot tall, 25 ton steel columns that were bolted into place to form the southern perimeter of the new tower. Additional tiers of columns were being erected to near grade by mid February. It is estimated that when complete, the Freedom Tower will comprise some 450,000 tons of steel.