Steel columns salvaged from the rubble of the World Trade Center are heading back to ground zero, and city and state leaders are due to discuss progrress on the memorial and museum this afternoon.
Two 70-foot columns taken from the wreckage of the north tower are being permanently installed Tuesday at the entrance to the Sept. 11 museum.
The 50-ton columns have three prongs and are known as tridents. They made up the facade at the tower's entrance. For the past few years they've been kept at a hanger at John F. Kennedy International Airport with other material recovered from the destroyed World Trade Center site.
The $45 million museum is being built below the 8-acre memorial plaza. It's set to open next year.
Gov. David Paterson, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Speaker Sheldon Silver are expected to hold a press conference this afternoon to discuss progress on the memorial and museum, just days ahead of the ninth anniversary of the attacks.
