Works Begins On Ground Zero Memorial

The Pit at Ground Zero is coming to life. Contractor E.E. Cruz & Co. is starting to build the foundation for the World Trade Center Memorial. The Port Authority and the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation are collaborating on the project. Workers began excavation this week for the footings of a memorial, museum, and visitor center. Preliminary construction began last March. The 142 footings to establish the building's foundations should be set within a year. Officials say the memorial will be finished by 2009.The digging of the foundation for the Freedom Tower, the 1,776-foot office tower planned just north of the memorial site, began in April and will include occasional rock-loosening blasts. -Sascha Brodsky