NEW YORK — The silver spire topping One World Trade Center on Friday was fully installed on the building's roof, raising the structure to its full, symbolic height of 1,776 feet.
Loud applause and cries of joy emanated from assembled construction workers as the spire was gently lowered and secured into place.
"It's a pretty awesome feeling," said project manager Juan Estevez from a temporary platform on the roof of the tower where he and other workers watched the milestone.
"It's a culmination of a tremendous amount of team work ... rebuilding the New York City skyline once again."
He said the workers around him were "utterly overjoyed."
Installation of the spire was completed after pieces of it had been transported to the roof of the building last week.
The building is rising at the northwest corner of the site where the twin World Trade Center towers were destroyed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The 72-story 4 World Trade Center is under construction at the southeast corner of the site.
The 408-foot spire, weighing 758 tons, will serve as a world-class broadcast antenna. An LED-powered light emanating from it will be seen from miles away and a beacon will be at the top to ward off aircraft.
The addition of the spire, and its raising of the building's height to 1,776 feet, would make One World Trade Center the tallest structure in the U.S. and third-tallest in the world, although building experts dispute whether the spire is actually an antenna — a crucial distinction in measuring the building's height.