WTC waterfalls due by Sept. 11 anniversary

NEW YORK, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- The Port Authority says the World Trade Center waterfalls in New York should be completed in time for the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Port Authority Executive Director Chris Ward said work on the twin waterfalls at Ground Zero in New York has advanced to a point that the man-made falls and their reflecting pools should be ready for the 2011 anniversary, The New York Daily News said Thursday.

"It's not a pit anymore," Ward said. "With all the progress that is taking place on the site, it's not even Ground Zero anymore."

The two man-made waterfalls are expected to be the largest in North America thanks to a planned drop of 46 feet into the reflecting pools.

Ward said Wednesday that an estimated 75 percent of the swamp white oak trees tabbed for the surrounding Memorial Plaza should be fully planted in time to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 2001 attacks.

The Daily News said, according to Ward, the planned Memorial Museum at Ground Zero is not expected to open until 2012.