by GEMMA JONES and ERIKA MARTINEZ
It is an enduring symbol of survival on 9/11.
And now, the Survivors' Stairway is on its way to becoming a permanent part of the memorial at the World Trade Center site.
The 37-step staircase, which was delicately transferred to a temporary home on Vesey Street yesterday, was used by thousands of fleeing workers on Sept. 11, 2001. It was the only structure left intact after the Twin Towers collapsed.
While no one will ever climb the 65-ton, two-story structure again, the stairway will go on permanent display at the city's 9/11 memorial museum on the 10th anniversary of the horrendous attacks.
"It was the only way out," said Tom Canavan, 48, a former banker who lost his fingernails and suffered burns during a desperate battle to reach the stairs. "It is just a stairway, but it means something. Hundreds if not thousands of people were ahead of me."
Avi Shick, chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., said the original plan was to preserve only a couple of the steps and demolish the rest.
But after a backlash from survivors, city officials decided to embed it 70 feet below ground at the main entrance to the memorial.
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