The Yonkers Contracting Co. contracts are the first awarded forthe $7-billion, five-year construction project that will consist ofthree new towers rising on the eastern portion of the 16-acre WorldTrade Center site. The foundation awards for the two towers total$40 million.

The foundation work is slated to begin Jan. 2. According toSilverstein Properties, the initial work will take place 85 feetbelow Church Street and involve about 50 construction workers.Individual tower footings will be excavated a further 10 feet to 12feet and the foundation work will enable the towers' superstructureto begin around six months later, the development company adds.

The start of the work will come just days after the PortAuthority of New York and New Jersey turns over the sites for thetwo towers to Silverstein, as outlined in a November 2006agreement. World Trade Center Towers 3 and 4 are expected to beready for occupancy in 2012.