Wyoming Bureau of Land Management Goes to Carbon Fiber Tower

SHARE THIS ARTICLE

When the Wyoming Bureau of Land Management (BLM) was looking for remote critical communications infrastructure to be located at the top of Elk Mountain, it had to consider the elements. In the past, due to high winds of up to 120 mph, along with 9-to-10 feet of snow and ice during winter, the previous steel tower masts that occupied the site repeatedly snapped at the bolts, or hinging section, causing the towers to end up on the ground multiple times. 

“The original tower kept breaking at the hinge, and we needed a solution, but in this situation, it had to be customized,” said Vance Andersen, BLM Wyoming Tele-Com Manager. “We deal with lifecycle use, we’re trying to take care of the lands, so we want to make sure that we try for the least impact as possible for the environment.” 

The Elk Mountain system shelter, which features an articulating tower mast, is a major communications site servicing approximately 180 square miles. The Wyoming BLM manages emergency communications for wildland fires, along with any aircraft, helping with wildland fires, as well as managing communications with those conducting field activity for the BLM.

The Bureau found a solution with IsoTruss, Inc., an engineering, design, and manufacturing services provider of a lightweight, durable, carbon fiber cell tower solution.

IsoTruss engineered and transported a 40-foot IsoTruss® carbon fiber tower weighing 250 lbs., then bolted and connected it to the existing system shelter. The lighterweight tower was delivered to the remote site with a light-duty truck and installed using manpower in a single day according to Nathan Rich, Founder and CEO of IsoTruss.

“Our team utilizes IsoTruss® geometry, made with composites, to provide creative engineering applications to difficult problems,” Rich said. “The Elk Mountain IsoTruss tower is a great example of our helping a client resolve an ongoing repair and maintenance issue at a remote critical infrastructure site with a sustainable, innovative solution.”

Rich said his towers reduce material usage by twelve times on a weight basis, resulting in 70 percent reduction in carbon emissions over the life of the tower and are well-suited to high wind, snow and ice environments in mountain settings. This is mostly due to the corrosion-resistance of the composite material, Rich said, and the superior wind resistance of the tower’s unique lattice geometry.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.