The temporary memorial to the passengers and crew of Flight 93 in Somerset County will be moved across the street this summer because the national park service's license to access the memorial's current location is about to end.
The memorial is currently located on property owned by Michael Svonavec, who runs a stone quarry on 273 acres that includes the Flight 93 impact site. The access agreement expires Sept. 5 and park service officials want the memorial moved in August to avoid any complications.
The park service and the Families of Flight 93 group have been trying to negotiate a price with Mr. Svonavec to purchase the land, but no agreement has been reached.
The new site for the temporary memorial will be on property across Skyline Road that was purchased by the nonprofit Families of Flight 93. But the Svonavec property also includes the planned site of the permanent memorial to Flight 93's passengers and crew, who died while trying to wrest control of the plane from terrorist hijackers.
Patrick White, co-chair of the Flight 93 Memorial Task Force, said they have made a standing offer to purchase the land. If an agreement is not reached in the next three to four months, he said construction of the permanent memorial's construction could be delayed.
