Gusty Winds Break Monopole in Half

March 11, 2013

A cell phone tower was broken in two last week as bitter, gusty winds hit south St. Louis, raining metal and bricks on the parking lot below as a section of the pole glanced off of a nearby building.

The tower, located at 3454 S. Grand Blvd. next to an All Rental store, is owned by Crown Castle International, according to the TowerSource database.

A duel-storm system with a rain/snow mix, gusty winds and cold temperatures may have contributed to the collapse of the 194-foot monopole. There were no reported injuries in the incident.

A nearby security guard shot a video of the same tower waving violently in a storm three months earlier, according to a report on KTVI. He said the attempts to fix an “uneven seam” just above the antenna array midway up the pole had been unsuccessful.

Crown officials did not return a call for comment. Top Photo: KTVI, Bottom Photo: Google.

More information at:

http://fox2now.com/2013/03/06/cell-tower-collapse-could-have-been-prevented/