September 11, 2001 began as an ordinary Tuesday for construction professionals working in New York City and Washington, DC, but unprecedented events that occurred before many arrived at work changed working life not only for those people, but for the industry and how it builds for the nation and the world for the next quarter century.
The planned terrorism of commercial airliners deliberately crashing into the iconic twin towers of the World Trade Center in Manhattan and the US Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, outside the nation’s capital, as well as into a field in Pennsylvania, was a profound tragedy that cost nearly 3,000 lives and up to $75 billion in damage, destruction and reconstruction.
As part of his September 10 show in Manhattan, Engineering resilience: 25 years of rebuilding, remembering and renewing, To mark the roles and impacts of engineers in response, recovery, and reconstruction after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 on its 25th anniversary, ACEC New York produced a video that captures the views of some of the participants on how to meet one of the greatest challenges in American history.
Video courtesy of ACEC New York
But it also allowed the industry to reach a high-water mark in emergency response, as individuals left workplaces and offices to lend their skills to first responders for rescues in crucial days afterward, for massive debris cleanup lasting months more, and for the innovation of 25 years of changes in how construction and human resilience have been strengthened.
The American Council of Engineering Cos.-New York discussed the issues and impacts for the profession at a Sept. 10 program in which chapter members, public officials and others shared experiences and lessons learned.
Michael Burton, who in 2001 as an engineer and director of the New York City Department of Design and Construction, was tasked with leading the 9/11 cleanup effort in Manhattan, is now an executive at the consulting firm LiRo-Hill; Vicki Arbitrio, now an associate partner at engineering firm Gilsanz Murray Steficek, was instrumental in bringing together more than 400 engineers to oversee structural safety at the site. Images courtesy of ACEC video
“It amazes me that I keep hearing new stories about incredible people who did things that no one expected to do,” Vicki Arbitrio, an associate partner at engineering firm Gilsanz Murray Steficek, told ENR after Sept. 10. commemoration event in which he was a panelist. Will, who at the time of the 9/11 attacks also served as secretary of the New York Society of Structural Engineers, added: “Listening to stories and sharing them is not really what engineers do. We’re numbers people, not storytellers. But I think it’s very important to help the public understand what we do.”
He said professionals sharing their experiences and knowledge about how their training helped New York City bounce back is important to help attract more of the next generation to the engineering profession.
Discussing how engineers responded to the scene, facilitating the rescue, keeping other emergency personnel safe and preparing for reconstruction, he emphasized how professionals can hone the skills to make important judgment calls despite enormous pressure.
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“You didn’t always get the permit before you started the work,” Arbitrio said. “But because so many were working toward the same goal, it worked.”
Continuing Education
While some worked to prevent rescue teams from being harmed by falling glass and debris from nearby damaged skyscrapers, others made sure dozens of heavy cranes and excavators were properly supported.
Michael Burton, executive vice president and director of national operations at consulting firm LiRo-Hill, also spoke at the act of commemoration At the time of the attacks, he he was executive deputy commissioner of the New York City Department of Design and Construction and was tasked by city officials with the role of manager of cleaning up the Ground Zero site.
“Everybody has a different story about what they did there,” he told ENR. “Even though I was responsible for the recovery, there’s a lot I don’t know.”
Sometimes there’s a misconception that rebuilding was its own isolated process that began after recovery was complete, Burton said. Meetings with agencies such as the New York State Department of Transportation and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey actually began shortly after the attacks, with planning and coordination for reconstruction underway “in these first nine months,” he said.
“If you you can get a bunch of smart people working together, you can do anything,” he says in the ACEC-NY video.
union construction workers who were part of the construction of the Worjd Trade Center Oculus transportation center participate in the opening of its east end in 2016; now links New Jersey’s transit system with nine New York City subway lines. Credit: AP Photo/Mark Lennihan
Enthusiasm spread to the private business community, which was also eager to rebuild, Burton recalls, when developer Silverstein Properties released plans to build the new World Trade Center Tower 7 in the winter and spring of 2002. “There was a lot of pride in saying that New York could bounce back,” he said.
Trades are increasing
Gary LaBarbera, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York, separately explained how “thousands of union construction workers, along with first responders, did not hesitate to step up to help this city rebuild, recover and revive” after 9/11. “They navigated through burning garbage, twisted steel, and to clean the air not just for toxic waste, but to clean the air.”
“Many of these workers did so at the expense of their own health and well-being, having suffered 9/11-related illnesses,” LaBarbera noted, though the council could not share exact numbers on the illness-related deaths of union members who worked on site, or the current health effects.
“Today, the legacies of these workers reside in the newly developed Lower Manhattan,” observed LaBarbera, which, through dedication and craftsmanship over the past two decades, “has become a boon for development, economic investment and culture in New York City.”
On Tuesday, Sept. 15, at 3:30 p.m., at North Oculus Plaza, 185 Greenwich Street, across from the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, a tribute will be held for construction and other first responders, with LaBarbera and other public and nonprofit officials, to “highlight the hard lessons this tragedy taught us about disaster response, occupational safety and health, the need for continued service and health prior, solidarity,” said a statement from the council.
All funds raised through donations and sponsorships will help support HEART 9/11’s nonprofit mission of immediately responding to natural and man-made disasters and in recovery and building community resilience, he added.
