platforms used to be. of tunnels and trackage, including of totally destroyed tunnels and tracks in the vicinity of the station site as it traversed Ground Zero, were entirely rebuilt. However, officials wanted only to reopen Rector and South Ferry stations at the time, and the Cortlandt Street station was to be closed completely, with no replacement. Eventually, it was decided that the Cortlandt Street station was to be rebuilt as part of the greater World Trade Center reconstruction project; since the station was such a vital one in the area, a permanent closure was infeasible. As part of the project, the East Bathtub was extended under the line to the eastern boundary of the site at Church Street. George Pataki, who was the governor of New York at the time, stated, "This is going to help more than a million people by restoring service, help the recovery of lower Manhattan and sends a powerful message that New York City can't be stopped." The Port Authority's chief engineer and others tried to convince him to temporarily shut down the line while the new transportation hub at the World Trade Center was under construction. The Governor's decision to keep the line open increased the cost of the project because the subway structure had to be underpinned. The new tunnel measured wide to accommodate the future reconstruction of the Cortlandt Street station; it was otherwise designed to the same specifications as the original tunnel, with columns placed every 5 feet. The line reopened on September 15, 2002, with trains bypassing the site of the Cortlandt Street station. The northern entrance at Vesey Street was under a staircase to the plaza above. After the World Trade Center collapse on September 11, the staircase still stood and became known as the Survivors' Staircase. The stairs were moved into the National September 11 Museum in July 2008. Reconstruction and delays PANYNJ cleanup In 2007, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ), in the Environmental Impact Statement for the World Trade Center PATH terminal, expected the Cortlandt Street station to reopen in 2009. In October 2008, the PANYNJ stated in a report that it had come to an agreement with the MTA on reconstructing the Cortlandt Street station. The MTA would pay the Port Authority to rebuild the station as part of the Port Authority's World Trade Center Transportation Hub contract, in order