Deal reached for Freedom Tower on-time finish

Michael Ip/for New York Daily News The Port Authority announced it had reached an agreement with Canadian steel company ADF Steel Corp. that will allow One World Trade Center, also known as the Freedom Tower, to be completed on time.

The Freedom Tower is going to get its top hat on time.

The Port Authority announced Tuesday that the Canadian steel company supplying the last bit of steel for the antenna on top of the tower has agreed to start shipping the material.

The Port Authority sued ADF Steel Corp. of Ontario last week, charging the company was holding the steel pieces needed to complete One World Trade Center hostage over a $6 million dispute on another Port Authority project.

PA spokesman Steve Coleman said the agency and ADF have agreed on a price for the steel on the other project, the Transportation Hub in Lower Manhattan. He declined to say how much the PA will pay, insisting the terms of the deal are confidential.

The deal means the lawsuit will be dropped and the steel for the tower antenna can set sail before Canadian shipping channels freeze over in winter.

The antenna is the last bit of exterior steel for the Freedom Tower and it is expected to be erected early in 2013. Interior work will continue for at least another 18 months.

The Port Authority expects tenants to start occupying the building in 2014.

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Deal reached for Freedom Tower on-time finish