Plans to welcome a new cell tower to Casper, WY have received the unanimous support of the Natrona County Commission, reports Oil City News. The proposed cell tower will be a 150-foot monopole occupying a private lot in Westgate Industrial Park. As the only tower in a 1.5-mile radius, the new structure will be an immediate remedy to local coverage gap issues.
“Being a user in the area, and not being able to use the phone and get data at times, I will really appreciate the tower being there,” stated Commissioner Jim Milne.
Everest Infrastructure Partners will be helming the construction project. Although the proposal received the unanimous support of the planning and zoning board, the Commission was slower to grant their approval while they waited for engineering reports to arrive.
The only real sticking point to the plan was a concern about setback limits and what that could mean if the cell tower pole failed structurally from excessive wind damage. The tower is designed with two buckle points, explained Everest representative, Susan Nease. In the “very, very unlikely” event of a collapse, she said, the sections would drop within a 50-ft by 50-ft area. A setback of 62 feet was approved, an exception to the 110 percent of the tower’s height rule.
Nease added that the structure was designed to withstand hurricane force winds, and was rated to hold 8,000 lbs at the top of the tower. An Everest engineer supported Nease’s claim, adding that the pole would be able to withstand sustained 108 mph winds without ice, and 50 mph winds in icy conditions.
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