Prince William County crews begin work on 9/11 memorial

Prince William Board of County Supervisors recently approved the design for the county’s 9/11 memorial using the steel beams from the World Trade Center. The beams have been in storage at the Prince William Public Safety Academy and were moved to the Sean T. Connaughton Plaza on last week in preparation for conservation and final installation on the Ellipse at the Prince William County Government Complex.

In May 2011, the New York Port Authority in New York and New Jersey signed an agreement granting the County four pieces of steel from the towers which were destroyed in the terrorist attacks on 9-11.

County staff started removing the concrete from the beams last weekend. The concrete will be saved for future use. Preservationists will then remove surface rust and chemically treat the beams to prevent future rust.

At the same time, crews will prepare the beams for installation. Design work and construction will begin on the memorial where the beams will be installed. Each beam will be taken for installation as preservationists finish conserving it.

“We’re going to start the design of the actual memorial along with the conservation of the steel,” said Brendon Hanafin, chief of the county’s Historic Preservation Division. 

Hanafin said county residents will be able to watch as conservation work proceeds. He was quoted in a news release as saying, “We’re probably going to have a couple of days a week, hopefully, where we’ll be able to say ‘C’mon over and see what they’re doing.’”

Hanafin hopes the work will be completed by Sept. 11, but schedules might not align in time to meet that deadline, he cautioned.

The Board allocated $185,000 from excess Transient Occupancy Tax revenue and $200,000 from the Administrative Contingency Reserve to the Department of Public Works to complete the project, according to a news release.