Written by jsmith on Mar 26, 2009 at 6:42 pm
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What began as a simple exercise in collocation this month in Hampshire, Ill., ended up in process of demolition of a tower owned by Crown Castle.
STG Communications was in the process of reinforcing the base of a tower, essentially pouring a five-foot by five-foot concrete cap on the foundation for Crown Castle to facilitate adding tenants to the tower. However, the existing foundation, which was expected to be 15 feet deep, was found to be only 2.5 feet deep.
“It should be a no-brainer. We do it on a weekly basis,” an STG company official told the AGL Bulletin. “The guys were real lucky at the base. They noticed the foundation was not acting properly and reported in. We pulled them back from the construction site just as it was starting to come apart.” Kane County Sheriff’s deputies were called on the scene at 1 p.m. to find the structure listing to the side. Fire department and emergency management officials were brought in, evacuating three homes and rerouting traffic.
The structure, which was raised in the 1970s, was not built according to plans. “Somebody cut some corners,” he said. “I don’t know how it stood this long. It was already overloaded.”
STG sent two people in to investigate, but the condition of the foundation continued to worsen as the day wore on and the winds picked up. That was when they decided bring the tower down. Around 5 p.m., the tower was taken down. No injuries were reported and none of the houses were damaged.
“With the dirt being packed around the foundation, I think that was enough support for it. As soon as we opened up one corner, that allowed all the force to go that direction,” the company official said. “We just dug on one corner and it was in such poor condition, the deterioration began and it came over sideways.”