The Freedom Tower

Steel is rising in another corner of ground zero.

Construction workers on Tuesday installed the first steel column for the Sept. 11 memorial, reports Newsday, the Long Island newspaper. The 7,700-pound column was erected by the footprint of the World Trade Center’s north tower.

The “Reflecting Absence” memorial will set two giant pools over the twin towers’ footprints. Construction began in 2006; the opening date is uncertain.

Steel has reached street level in another corner of the site for the Freedom Tower, one of five skyscrapers being built to replace the trade center.