NEW YORK CITY-A higher-than-estimated price tag for the Santiago Calatrava-designed gateway to the World Trade Center’s forthcoming transit hub has prompted the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to dip into its $600-million contingency fund for the first time. The Port Authority’s board voted on Thursday to draw down $180 million from the fund and to reauthorize the transit hub’s cost at $3.44 billion, up from the $3.26-billion estimate provided three years ago.

Drawing down from the contingency fund, which was established to help meet unanticipated costs throughout the WTC redevelopment, was due in large measure to the board’s awarding a $221-milion contract to Skanska/Koch to fabricate and erect 11,000 tons of structural steel for the Calatrava-designed Oculus that will serve as the hub’s gateway. The New York Times reported that higher-than-expected shipping costs on the steel arches that are planned for the structure’s ceiling were a factor; the arches are being fabricated in Spain.

The award marks the last major contract for the WTC Transportation Hub, with 94% of the contracts now awarded, according to a release. “Given how close we are to absolute completion of the Hub contract process, it is the right time to draw down on the program-wide contingency we established back in 2008 for these types of circumstances,” Chris Ward, the Port’s executive director, says in a statement. The Port estimates that the hub will serve 250,000 commuters per day when completed, and is also planned to include 500,000 square feet of retail space.

Also on Thursday, the board authorized $151 million to fund expenses related to the commercial infrastructure that supports the office space across the Ground Zero site, along with approximately $8 million for systems-integration planning. A little more than a third, $61 million, will come out of the WTC East Side Development Plan, while the rest will be allocated from the contingency fund. That leaves $322 million in the contingency fund, along with $280 million in Federal Transit Administration monies.