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1 WTC to be tallest building in the west

Construction crews at the 9/11 site will raise the final two sections of a 408-foot spire to the top of the One World Trade Center building Monday, making the building the tallest in the western hemisphere.

In this photo of Friday, April 26, 2013, from Bayonne, N.J., One World Trade Center rises behind the Statue of Liberty in New York. According to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the final pieces of spire will soon be lifted by crane and placed on top of the skyscraper, making it 1776 feet tall. - AP

A stainless steel beacon weighing almost six tonnes will be the final piece put in place to give the building an iconic height of 1,776 feet, CNN cited a statement from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as saying.

Once the architectural structure is complete, it will comprise of 18 separate sections of steel and three communication rings.

The first - and heaviest - steel section was installed in January, weighing more than 67 tonnes.

The spire will serve a TV broadcast facility housed in One World Trade Center.

While under construction, One World Trade Center became New York City's tallest building a year ago, standing 1,271 feet above street-level. The building then was 21 feet higher than the Empire State Building's observation deck.