A crew was working high above the ground at the top of a telecommunications tower on Tuskegee Drive, near East Tulsa Road, on Wednesday. A Barnhart crane was also at the site. Here are a few pictures.
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Rick Hasbrouck says
John, Great pics, but do you know what the tower is for?
johnhuotari says
Rick,
The fence at the East Tulsa Road entrance to the site is posted with EarthLink signs.
I do remember some discussion of this project at City Council meetings several years ago. If I recall correctly, this project was related to work to support existing communications networks and possibly allow the addition of new ones.
The Oak Ridge City Council considered the East Tulsa Road access to the site on Nov. 29, 2010. See the resolution starting on page 80 of this City Council agenda: http://oakridgetn.gov/images/uploads/documents/agendas/Agenda12132010.PDF.
The resolution said this was a DeltaCom Inc. project, a federally funded stimulus project.
DeltaCom now appears to be EarthLink Business company, according to a March 2011 press release. EarthLink Inc. announced then that it had completed Phase I of the Eastern Tennessee Middle Mile Fiber Broadband Project, which included the expansion of a 343-mile overbuild of an existing fiber optic route from Nashville to Knoxville and the addition of a new diverse fiber optic route from Knoxville to Chattanooga.
I’m not completely certain that the East Tulsa Road/Tuskegee Drive tower is connected to this EarthLink announcement, but it seems to match my recollection of the conversation at the time. (And someone please feel free to correct me if I am wrong.)
The March 2011 press release also said the final phase of the project, targeted for completion in the third quarter of 2011, would include the addition of five new interconnection points, including Cookeville, Oak Ridge, Cleveland, Sweetwater, and Morristown. “These communities are located in counties designated as underserved by Connected Tennessee, an independent nonprofit organization that develops and implements effective strategies for technology deployment, use and literacy in Tennessee.”
You can see the EarthLink press release here: http://www.earthlink.net/about/press/pressrelease.faces?id=839
I hope that helps, but please let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you,
John
Daniel Powers says
That was an existing tower right? Wife and I saw them working and could not remember if there had been a tower there or if it was a brand new tower.
johnhuotari says
Yes, I think it’s been there at least a few years.