New Communications Tower Tops Off Thursday

February 15, 2008

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tower01.jpgOne of the tallest structures in North Escambia was topped off on Thursday. A new communications tower near Gobbler Road and Still Road in Oak Grove hit 330 feet on Thursday afternoon.

The tower is owned by Alabama Electric Cooperative and is used for communications between rural electric cooperatives. The new tower was constructed directly adjacent to a 280 foot tall tower also owned Alabama Electric Cooperative. The old tower, constructed in 1987, will be taken down in the new few weeks.

The new tower will actually reach to a height of 348 feet when the antennas on top are counted in the measurement.

It was constructed by Tower Systems South, Inc. of Winter Park, Florida, using individual 30 foot high sections. The sections were raised one at a time using a temporary steel mast extending above each section to hoist sections up. Four people were up on the tower to assist in the lift and to bolt each section together.

This tower is the third highest in the North Escambia area. A tower owned by Escambia County at 7955 Bratt Road tops out at 370 feet. A cellular tower owned by Pinnacle Towers at 381 Highway 164 near Highway 29 in McDavid is 353 feet high.

A large American flag was gently waving in the wind at the top of the construction mast above the tower as it was being constructed.

For a photo gallery of the tower construction, including photos of the workers on the tower, click here.

Pictured top of page: An American flag waves over 300 feet above Oak Grove Thursday afternoon while a worker climbs to the top of a new communications tower. Pictured left side of page: A new 330 foot high communications tower being constructed Thursday afternoon. In this photo, the tower is at 300 feet before the last 30 foot section is added. The old tower (with antennas to the left in the photo) is 280 feet high, not counting the antennas. NorthEscambia.com exclusive photos. Click either photo to enlarge.

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