NEW YORK, April 27: A line of giant earth movers rolled into the pit of the World Trade Center site on Thursday to finally begin construction on the symbolic skyscraper that will replace the fallen twin towers.

The carefully stage-managed event was partially aimed at closing the book on the bitter disputes and political infighting that have dogged the Ground Zero reconstruction project ever since the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.

In a show of unity, New York Governor George Pataki, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and property developer Larry Silverstein applauded the excavation trucks as they moved down the ramp.

They shook hands with construction workers wearing hard hats with the slogan ‘Freedom Tower, World Trade Center’.

The Freedom Tower, which has been redesigned several times, will rise 1,776 feet — a height reflecting the year of American independence.

“It is going to be a symbol of our freedom and our independence,” Pataki told reporters.

Construction was finally allowed to begin after a deal between the owners of the site, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the leaseholder, Silverstein, was finalised on Wednesday.—AFP