Engineers, Building Trades Reflect on Industry's Sept. 11 Impacts, Legacy

9/11 25-Years Later Engineers, Building Trades Reflect on Industry's Sept. 11 Impacts, Legacy Sept. 11, 2001 started as a normal Tuesday for construction professionals working in New York City and Washington, D.C.— but unprecedented events that occurred before many even made it to work changed life not just for those individuals, but also for the industry and how it builds for the nation and the world over the quarter-century since. The planned terrorism of commercial airliners forced to crash deliberately into the iconic World Trade Center twin towers in Manhattan and U.S. Pentagon in Arlington, Va. outside the nation's capital, as well as into a field in Pennsylvania, was a profound tragedy that cost nearly 3,000 lives and as much as $75 billion in damage, destruction and rebuilding alone. But it also allowed the industry to reach a high mark in emergency response, as individuals left jobsites and offices to lend their skills to first responders for rescues in crucial days after, for massive debris cleanup lasting months longer and for innovating changes over 25 years in how building and human resilience has strengthened. Cleanup was managed by four contractors that divided the site into quadrants: AMEC Construction, Bovis Lend Lease, Tully Construction Co. and Turner Construction/Plaza Construction joint venture The American Council of Engineering Cos.-New York discussed issues and impacts for the response in a Sept. 10 program Engineering Resilience: 25 Years of Rebuilding, Remembrance and Renewal, held in Manhattan, at which involved chapter members, public officials and others shared experiences and lessons learned. As part of the program, ACEC New York produced a video that captures some participants' insights on confronting one of the most consequential response challenges in U.S. history. See video clip below: Video courtesy of ACEC New York “I’m surprised that I keep hearing new stories about amazing people who did things that no one expected to do,” Vicki Arbitrio, an associate partner at engineering firm Gilsanz Murray Steficek, told ENR after the Sept. 10 commemoration event on which she was a panelist. At the time of the Sept. 11 attack, she also was secretary of the Structural Engineers Association of New York. Looking for quick answers on construction and engineering topics? Try Ask ENR, our new smart AI search tool. Ask ENR → “Hearing the stories and sharing them is not really what engineers do. We’re numbers people, not story tellers," she added. "But I think it’s really important to help the public understand what we do.” Arbitrio said that practitioners sharing experiences and insights of how their training helped New York City recover is important to help draw more of the next generation into the engineering profession. Michael Burton, who in 2001 as an engineer and New York City Dept. of Design and Construction manager, was tasked to lead the 9/11 cleanup effort in Manhattan, now is an executive of consultting firm LiRo-Hill; Vicki Arbitrio, an associate partner at engineering firm Gilsanz Murray Steficek, played a major role in assembling more than 400 engineers to monitor structural safety at the site. Images ACEC video Discussing how engineers responded on site—facilitating rescue, keeping other emergency personnel safe and preparing for reconstruction—emphasized how practitioners can hone skills in making important judgement calls despite enormous pressure. “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 As some worked to prevent rescue teams from harm caused by falling glass and debris from nearby damaged skyscrapers, others ensured that dozens of heavy cranes and excavators were adequately supported. Michael Burton, executive vice president and national operations manager for consultant LiRo-Hill, also spoke at the commemoration event. At the time of the attacks, he was executive deputy commissioner for the New York City Dept. of Design and Construction and was tasked by city officials to assume the role of Ground Zero site cleanup manager. “Everybody has a different story for what they did there," he told ENR. "Even though I was responsible for the recovery, there’s so much I don’t know.” ______________________________________________________________________ RELATED LINKS READ Michael Burton Earns ENR Award of Excellence in Leading Ground Zero Cleanup READ Terror War Expands Money Flows at Home READ Witnesses to 9/11 Are Devoted to Rebuilding World Trade Center READ New Jersey Rescue Team Engineer Worked to Prevent Second Collapse ______________________________________________________________________ There is sometimes a misconception that reconstruction was its own isolated process that started after recovery was complete, Burton said. In reality, meetings with agencies such as the New York State Dept. of Transportation and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey began soon after the attacks, with planning and coordination for reconstruction well underway “in those first nine months,” he said. "If you can get a bunch of smart people to work together, you can do anything," he says on the ACEC-NY video. The enthusiasm extended to the private business community, which was also eager to rebuild, Burton remembers, as developer Silverstein Properties launched plans for construction of the new 7 World Trade Center tower in the winter and spring of 2002. “There was a lot of pride in saying that New York could rebound,” he said. Trades Step Up Gary LaBarbera, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York, separately recounted how “thousands of union construction workers, alongside first responders, did not hesitate to step up to help this city rebuild, recover, and rekindle” after Sept. 11. “They navigated burning debris, twisted steel, and toxic air in an effort not only to clean up debris, but also to search for remains.” “Many of these workers did so at the expense of their own health and well-being, having suffered from 9/11-related illnesses,” LaBarbera noted, although the council could not share exact numbers on illness-related deaths of union members who worked at the site, nor current health effects. “Today, these workers' legacies lie in the newly developed Lower Manhattan,” LaBarbera observed, which, through dedication and craft skill over the past two decades, “has become a boon for development, economic investment and New York City culture." A tribute for construction and other first responders is set for Tuesday, Sept. 15, 3:30 p.m., at North Oculus Plaza, 185 Greenwich Street, across from the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, to “highlight the hard lessons this tragedy taught us about disaster response, along with the continued need to prioritize worker safety, healthcare, service, and solidarity,” said a council statement. All funds raised through donations and sponsorship will help support non-profit HEART 9/11’s mission to respond immediately to natural and man-made disasters and in community recovery and resilience building, it added.