WTC GETTING READY

One World Trade Center already is New York's tallest building. When the last pieces of its spire eventually rise to the roof, the 104-floor skyscraper will be feet from becoming the highest in the Western Hemisphere. Officials had hoped that would happen today, but the weather did not cooperate. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey says the spire pieces plus a steel beacon will instead be lifted at a later date from the rooftop to cap the building at 541.32 metres. The new high-rise replaces the twin towers destroyed on September 11, 2001. The 408-foot spire will serve as a world-class broadcast antenna. The new tower is at the northwest corner of the World Trade Center site, which is well on its way to reconstruction with the 72-story Four World Trade Center and other buildings.