Along Exit 14B of the New Jersey Turnpike, you can see something even more distressing than lower Manhattans skyline. Mountains of metal rise from the scrap yards of Jersey City, where much of the steel from the 110-story World Trade Center was taken and shredded. There, much of the evidence of the worlds largest-ever building collapse passed through on its way into history. It is there that the physical clues of the terrorist assault were gathered together one more time after having left Ground Zero, directly across the Hudson River. But except for 100 or so pieces saved for future research, most of the steel has been cut down for new uses.
It is the steel that told the story of the Boeing 767s impacts. It is the pieces from areas around the impact zones that could have told us how the twin towers failed. Without the steel to inspect, we have lost a tremendous opportunity to develop conclusive answers based on physical evidence.