World Trade Center spire in place

NEW YORK, May 10 (UPI) -- Construction workers in New York Friday installed a 408-foot spire atop of the World Trade Center, making it the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.

The pieces that make the spire -- 18 steel sections and three communication rings -- were lifted onto a temporary platform last week.

On Thursday, the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey tweeted that the weather on Friday may be good enough to install the spire, which brings the building's total height to 1,776 feet -- a reference to the year the United States declared its independence.

The spire will serve as an antenna for a television broadcast facility inside the new World Trade Center, which was built near the site of the original World Trade Center towers, destroyed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, CNN reported.

Last week, construction director Steven Plate said the spire will be a "beacon that'll be seen for miles around and give a tremendous indication to people around the entire region, and the world, that we're back and we're better than ever."