On a morning not all that different than the one forecast for today, it was a bolt from the blue. The skies over New York City were a crisp bright blue with nary a cloud in a sky. It was a morning full of promise.

September 11, 2001 and New Yorkers were heading to the polls to vote on the next mayor of the city. People were talking baseball and the upcoming football season, just as they are doing now. Talk of the Yankees making the playoffs. While everyone was focused on the day ahead, al Qaeda’s terrorists were already on board four jets bound for New York and Washington DC and had already overpowered the crews.

I was on a NJ Transit train with my dad when I first noticed something wrong at the WTC out of the corner of my eye; it was smoke coming from the upper reaches of the tower.

It was just around 8:45.

The world changed, and I didn’t quite realize it.

As they say, read it all.

I’ve been reporting on the battle to rebuild Ground Zero, the ensuing construction efforts for the past 11 years in one form or another, and while I would have hoped that the construction would have been completed by now, that’s not the case. It’s anything but.

Controversy continues and only today did a deal get reached to resume construction on the 9/11 Museum. Work at the museum had stopped not long after last September and the deal between the memorial foundation and the Port Authority means that the museum wont open until the 4Q of 2013, and most likely 2014 at the earliest. There’s also the question of an entrance fee, and that’s a sticky wicket considering that the memorial has exceeded expectations having taken in 4.5 million visitors since it opened last year.

The PATH Transit Hub is also behind schedule and overbudget, while work on 2 and 3 WTC are not likely to be completed beyond a stub height unless tenants are lined up. 1WTC is on pace to be finished next year along with 4WTC. Fiterman Hall opened up a few weeks ago, so there are positive developments but far too much remains undone.

It’s still a work in progress.