by blogs.discovery.com, 02.08.2011

New Jersey PATH Train
6:20 AM, EST

I rarely make it out to Jersey, having only set foot on a PATH train just twice before. Yet, here I am, at 6 in the morning, during an ice storm, on a World Trade Center-bound train. And I've already been shooting for two and a half hours.

This morning, three of us woke up in the middle of the night to shadow one of many dedicated ground zero workers as he starts his day. Now, Billy DePasquale, Project Manager for the Hub, who routinely logs 18-hour days to keep his project moving forward, is nearing the end of his commute from Florham Park, NJ. He stands across from me, boots firmly planted on the moving car, hardhat tucked in the crook of his elbow, fingers nimbly navigating his Blackberry. His eyes, heavy and bleary just moments ago, slowly come alive as we approach the site.

Billy's daily ritual starts well before sunrise, at 3:30AM, where the veteran Turner manager quietly rouses himself from sleep, careful not to wake his wife and nine year old daughter. He makes his way downstairs, turns on a few lights, and puts on the kettle. He finishes dressing as he waits for the whistle, shuffling in red wool socks that will guard against the 15-degree chill during twelve-hour days. He has some tea, and a bite to eat. This morning, he had two sugar cookies.

By 4:20AM, he's out the door, driving himself to the nearby NJ Transit station, through the predawn haze and the morning’s winter ice. He grabs a cup of coffee from a local barista named George, and briefly discusses whether Punxsutawney will see his shadow. Then the Hub's PM hops aboard a Hoboken-bound train, the first of two that will take him to the World Trade Center construction site. He is glued to his work, incessantly thumbing his smartphone, checking emails from the night before, looking up weather forecasts and updating a multitude of schedules and construction sequences. He pauses only to sip his coffee, breath deep, revitalizing breaths, and to wipe the sleep from his face.

The ridiculously early two-hour commute: a testament to the man's dedication; common among the hundreds of men and women working on the rebuilding effort.

Brian Cimagala
Story Producer — Transportation Hub
The Rising: Rebuilding Ground Zero