BELLEVILLE, IL (AP) – Ground has been broken for a September 11 memorial in southern Illinois.

The Belleville News Democrat reports the ceremony was Tuesday in Belleville on city-owned property near a firehouse. The September 11 Memorial Walkway of Southern Illinois will be built. Organizers hope to have the project finished by Sept. 11 of this year.

The centerpiece of the memorial will be a 7,100-pound steel column from the World Trade Center.

There also will be a Flight 93 Memorial, a timeline of the terrorist attacks and a memorial in the shape of a pentagon.

Organizers have raised $80,000 for he project. They hoped to raise $100,000 before breaking ground.