While the final sections of a concrete spire on the One World Trade Center building were scheduled to be completed Monday, construction was postponed due to windy weather.
"Due to winds, the Port Authority will postpone today's plans to hoist the final section of the spire to the top of One World Trade," the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said.
The agency added that construction would continue, "when conditions permit."
As soon as construction on the spire is finished, 1 WTC will be, "the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere," the Port Authority said when announcing the final phase of the spire assembly on Friday.
There are 16 other sections of the spire that have already been installed. But when the final two portions are lifted atop the building, the overall height of 1 WTC will reach 1,776 feet. The spire itself is 408 feet tall, while the roof is the exact height of the original twin towers before their destruction on Sept. 11, 2001 — 1,368 feet.
And the spire is not just there for aesthetic purposes. It will also be used as antennae for a broadcast facility planned for inside the building, tenants of the 1 WTC and other companies.
But the fact that the spire is being used as antennae could prevent 1 WTC from being deemed the tallest building in the Western hemisphere, a title that is given out by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
If the spire is considered to be an antenna and not part of the actual structure of the new tower, it will lose the honor to the two current tallest buildings — the Willis and Trump towers in Chicago.
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