Telstra engineers have completed the replacement of an eye-watering 80-metre high tower in Tasmania.
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The Waterhouse tower is located about 100 kilometres from Launceston and is integral to linking Tasmania radio waves to Flinders Island.
The project has recently been completed, with engineers working on building the new structure for six months and costing $1.5 million.
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Telstra's regional general manager for Tasmania Michael Patterson said the replacement of the tower was a challenging project for the company, which involved working with a variety of businesses and government departments.
"We know that the site is located close to a breeding and nesting area for the endangered wedge-tail eagle, so we worked closely with the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife department to ensure onsite construction works occurred outside of the seven month breeding season," he said.
The Waterhouse tower is Testra's tallest tower in Tasmania and its construction replacement involved 55 tonnes of steel and 20,000 bolts.
All the metal involved in the structure also needed to be painted to protect it from the elements, which was done by Launceston company McElligotts.
A 300-tonne crane, the second largest in Tasmania was required for three days to lift the preconstructed sections into place in late March. Up to eight specialised riggers were employed to construct the tower.
"Following completion of the tower structure in late March, Telstra has been installing and testing additional equipment to help supply connectivity to the new mobile base stations on Flinders Island, becoming fully operational in early June," Mr Patterson said.
"In addition to this project, Telstra has also undertaken an upgrade to the transmission connection from the tower site to Launceston."
The new structure replaces a similar four leg, lattice tower that was about 50 years old and at the end of its life cycle. The old tower has since been dismantled and removed from the site.
The replacement was part of Telstra's $8 billion commitment to invest in infrastructure in regional Australia.
Telstra is investing almost $20 million to improve mobile network coverage and capacity for its customers.
"Telstra has more than 300 mobile tower sites across Tasmania, covering more than 59 per cent of the land and delivering mobile coverage to 98.7 per cent of the state's population. This is over 100 sites more than our nearest competitor," Mr Patterson said.
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