Friday, November 6, 2009

Flght 93 Memorial Ground to be Broken


The National Park Service will break ground Saturday for the first phase of the Flight 93 Memorial. Flight 93 family members, elected officials and US Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar will be on hand for the noon event. Memorial superintendent Joanne Hanley says this will not be the typical celebratory ground breaking ceremony. She says, “It is a ground breaking but we are very aware that the ground has already been broken with the lives of the 40 passengers and crew that gave their lives that day.” Hanley says it is one of many milestones that will be reached in the construction of the park. Phase One includes a memorial wall and a stone plaza adjacent to the impact zone; now know as “the sacred ground.” Work is to be done by the 10th anniversary of the attacks of September 11th. A visitor center and other amenities will be built during Phase Two. A new road from US Rt. 30 will also be constructed. Hanley says over the next year there will be times that there will be disruptions at the temporary memorial including times when it may have to be closed completely. Phase One is fully funded but the Flight 93 National Memorial Campaign is still looking to raise $15 million for the second phase.

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