3 Radio Towers Decommissioning in One Day

3 Radio Towers Decommissioning in One Day

Case Study:

How DOT Decommissioned Three Hard-to-Access Radio Towers in One Day

What was the challenge?

The New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) was decommissioning old radio towers used by emergency responders along the highway and replacing them with new telecom services.

Several radio towers were located in the woods along busy Interstate 495, with no access from the ground below. Interstate 495 is one of the busiest in the nation, and could not be closed for a long time without creating major disruptions to the entire New York City area.

DOT was looking for innovative height access equipment that could quickly and safely lift a technician to the radio tower to disassemble the radio stations and take the equipment down without blocking the traffic for hours.

What was the solution?

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DOT hired Alpha Platforms to remove radio equipment using an operated aerial boom rental. The A-230 was dispatched, capable of reaching heights of 230 ft, but more importantly, can provide a side reach of up to 115’. The boom needed to reach up and over the side of the road into a patch in the woods.
2
Available JLG lifts didn’t have the required side reach, and delivery and removal of a self-propelled lift on I-495 would have required more time than setup and removal of the A-230, extending traffic obstruction.
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Our A-series aerial boom lifts are ready to work within 10 minutes of arrival on site.
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The full-time IPAF-certified lift operator enabled the telecom technician to focus solely on the job at hand.
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The specs of our state-of-the-art A-230 lift:
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What was the outcome?

Once the technician accessed the tower with all his tools, he removed the tube cover, placed it inside the A-230’s 12’-long work cage, and disassembled the unit.

The 12-ft-wide cage carries 1,322 lbs., allowing to easily lower all the removed parts and equipment to the ground in one run.

With the support from the Alpha Platforms full-time lift operator, who drove the A-230’ lift from job site to job site, the DOT telecom technician was able to complete radio equipment removal on all three hard-to-reach towers on the same day, reducing project duration and traffic disruption by at least 3X.

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Our precise German-made lifts have become the height access method of choice for those who try them, as they combine unmatched productivity, safety, and reach.
Notable 230 Foot Boom Lift Capabilities
  • 12-foot extra large cage
  • 1,322 lbs lifting capacity for crew, equipment, and materials
  • Side reach up to 115 feet
  • Unique "under and up" or "up and over and back" access
  • Jib length 31’6’’
  • Parking in tight spaces 8’6’’ wide
  • Cage rotation 2 x 80°
  • Smooth controlled motions to move close to and around glass and fragile structures

Alpha Platforms has helped hundreds of teams like yours


Customer Testimonials
from Case Studies

Mike P.
Building restoration services family business owner

We wanted to give it a try and see what this boom truck could do. We loved the idea of a wide basket that could reach up to 30 feet and get to the brick wall over the roof. The main reason we loved the truck was how it maneuvered the boom to lower the bricks inside a dumpster, which was located behind the truck. It saved us at least one extra day of work. It all went great.

Joseph A.
Head stone mason, national cathedral

The project was performed successfully, and we were really glad to have contactless means of reaching the building, as we all know that pipe scaffold might damage the structure, in this case, very very sensitive.

Jason A.
Director of operations, family-owned regional electrical services provider

Alpha has the most efficient and leanest site setup time I’ve ever seen. My brother, who is the top climber of our group, first struggled to understand how this cage could go around the tower better than the crane - and when it did the whole 360°, he became a believer. Also, each laborer said how incredibly safe they felt - very different from the small crane basket. We were able to secure and push back the panels in place without the basket ever moving.

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