Beam signed by Obama raised at WTC

A steel beam signed by President Barack Obama was lifted into place Thursday at the top of the 104-story One World Trade Center.

A crane atop the building raised the beam from the ground after dozens of people, including construction workers and police officers, added their own signatures near those of the president and first lady Michelle Obama.

"It feels really good to be a part of it," said ironworker James Brady, part of the crew that lifted the beam. "I feel very proud to be here. I feel very lucky to be here."

On June 14, the Obamas visited the skyscraper that's being built to replace the twin towers destroyed by terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001.

The white beam contains the words "One World Trade Center" painted in blue. Obama wrote in marker: "We remember," "We rebuild" and "We come back stronger!"

The signatures will no longer be visible as the beam, which is 35 feet long and weighs 11,000 pounds, is enveloped by the structure.

"It will be, as the rest of the beams are, one that will support this building in years to come, decades to come," said Steven Plate, head of World Trade Center construction for the Port Authority, which owns the site.

The skyscraper, formerly known as the Freedom Tower, is expected to be completed in early 2014.

-- AP