Workers are seen Friday morning at the World Trade Center Memorial at One Government Square in downtown Parkersburg. The monument is being expanded with additional features. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

PARKERSBURG – A project is underway to expand the World Trade Center Memorial at One Government Square in downtown Parkersburg.

New additions will be built around the centerpiece of the memorial, a marble block containing a piece of a steel beam from the World Trade Center’s south tower. The beam, which has a cross cut into it, was given to the family of Mary Lou Hague, a 1992 Parkersburg High School graduate who was working in the tower and died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Her mother, Liza Adams, donated the beam for the memorial ahead of the 20th anniversary of the attacks.

The memorial has stood since 2021, but there was always an intention to expand it, said Parkersburg Engineer Adam Stout, who designed the project.

“I’ve been hoping to do this project for five years now, because this is the 25th (anniversary),” he said Friday.

Mayor Tom Joyce said the project was originally planned for 2020 but it was not pursued due to uncertainty about city finances due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The work is being done on a $129,000 contract awarded to Kelly Paving, paid for out of the city’s capital reserve budget for fiscal year 2026, which ended June 30. It will include construction of new concrete retaining walls, stairs, sidewalks, railing and lighting.

In addition, a stamped concrete area representing the north tower will be added. It will match the existing stamped area on which the monument stands, representing the south tower in which Hague worked.

The 9-foot-11-inch-by-9-foot-11-inch squares will be spaced as scaled representations of the original World Trade Center, according to the release.

Construction began on Wednesday.

“I am happy to see this improvement come to realization,” Joyce said in the release. “It improves access, adds aesthetic value to the area and pays homage to the 9/11 victims.”

People should expect temporary construction activity and limited access around the immediate work area during construction, the release said.

Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.