Two workers dangle from a new cellular tower disguised as a football stadium light pole Wednesday morning at Deep Run High School
As a followup to an earlier story we brought you about the debate over construction of a cellular tower on Deep Run High School property, the monopole tower that aims to bring better wireless coverage to portions of the Twin Hickory neighborhood is now in place. But despite the controversy of placing it on school property, construction is now nearly complete.
But many people probably won’t ever notice it. That’s because rather than erecting a free-standing tower on its own, the unit doubles as a light tower for Deep Run’s football stadium.
The discreet installation is barely taller than the other three existing light towers surrounding the stadium and therefore alleviated many of the concerns of some nearby residents who took a “not in my backyard” approach to its construction.
The tower, which should soon be in service, will strengthen coverage in the area, which has historically been somewhat weak with several carriers. Workers were seen dangling from the tower’s antennae Wednesday morning, finalizing installation.
The tower, measuring a total height of 79 feet (20 feet higher than the existing three light poles, follows a growing trend of disguising cellular transmission sites to blend in with existing structures.
A similar installation is in place at the nearby Dominion Club, where multiple cell towers were built around the club’s pool and disguised as light towers to be used for Swim Team events.
No word yet on whether multiple competing carriers will be renting space on the Deep Run tower.
