COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) -
Construction on the 9/11 museum is back on track at Ground Zero following a funding dispute that put the project on hold.
Much of the steel for the museum will actually come from a company right here in the Midlands. They will also provide beams for what will become the third tower at the plaza where the World Trade Center once stood.
Six states south of New York, sparks are flying, beams are being loaded, and steel is being shipped to what may be the country's most cared about construction site.
Flash back to Owen Steel Yard 11 years ago today and Mike Cooke was at his desk when he saw the first plane hit.
"I'm thinking, 'How can someone make that mistake?' and it's like, this isn't an accident, this is bad news," Cooke said.
It's a story most everyone feels their heart connect with, but for workers at the steel yard, their hands are connected to the story as well.
Owen Construction out of Columbia got a contract in 2007 to fit the 9/11 Memorials with steel and then erect the structures.
"First one we were involved with was the World Trade Center Museum," Cooke said. "Second one we were involved with is the hub, and now we're working on tower three."
Their loads are still moving north, despite recent political back and forths that've stalled parts of the project. They've been able to plow forward with their part. No doubt it's a project built with blood, sweat, and so many tears, but it's also a project built of steel.
"We build lots of pretty cool buildings, but to be involved with these jobs here at the World Trade Center site after we know what happened after the country was attacked. I call it rebuilding hope -- hope with steel," Cooke said.
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