World Trade Center Subway Stop Destroyed in 9/11 Reopened After 17 Years

The subway station that was destroyed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks has reopened for the first time since the attacks.

The World Trade Center (WTC) Cortlandt reopened on Saturday, Sept. 8.

The old station was buried under rubble from the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001.

“The opening of WTC Cortlandt returns a subway station to a vibrant neighborhood and represents a major milestone in the recovery and growth of downtown Manhattan,” said Joseph Lhota, the chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), in a statement.

“WTC Cortlandt is more than a new subway station. It is symbolic of New Yorkers’ resolve in restoring and substantially improving the entire World Trade Center site.”

The station’s restoration cost over $180 million, according to the New York Post. Construction included clearing the rubble away from the original Cortlandt station, underpinning the station shell, creating an underground railway, and building the new station to grade. It measures 700 feet long and 47 feet wide and is situated several floors below street level.

Ann Hamilton's "CHORUS," a marble mosaic spanning both platforms at the reopened WTC Cortlandt subway station with text from the Declaration of Independence and the UN Declaration of Human Rights, on Sept. 8, 2018. MTA

Delayed While WTC Rebuilt

The reason for the delay since 2001? The rest of the World Trade Center site needed to be rebuilt before work started on the station, MTA officials said.

That day finally came in 2015, which is when construction on the station started.

It’s the first subway station in New York City that has air conditioning and includes several other features, including electronic signs that display real-time service updates. It also has disabled access.

The station serves the 1 train but is adjacent to the World Trade Center Transportation Hub, which offers connections to 11 subway lines.

Art Inside the Station

The station features a number of artworks, including marble mosaics featuring text from the Declaration of Independence and the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Artist Ann Hamilton created the pieces.

“My inspiration really was the site, and the history of the site, and wanting to make something that is beautiful,” she said, according to the Post. “And it actually allows people perhaps to pause for a moment and really feel a connection to this language, which really, I think, holds some of our highest aspirations.”

The mosaics are meant to be read by subway riders. The marble is a blend of Italian and American.

“It’s very important to me that it be elegant,” she said of the work. “I think when we see things that are beautiful, maybe our hearts fall open a little bit, and we are a little more generous.”

From NTD.tv