Senior Road Tower

The Senior Road Tower is a guyed mast for FM and TV broadcasting, measuring 1,971 feet (601 m) tall, located in unincorporated northeastern Fort Bend County near Missouri City, Texas, United States.

Description

The current Senior Road Tower was built in 1983 as a replacement for the original Senior Road tower which collapsed on 7 December 1982 during construction. Radio stations KKBQ 92.9, KTBZ-FM 94.5, KKHH 95.7, KHMX 96.5, KBXX 97.9, KODA 99.1, KILT-FM 100.3, KLOL 101.1 and KRBE 104.1 all use the Senior Road Tower as their primary transmitting facility. The tower does not currently transmit local TV stations. The tower was named after a back road to the Houston tower antenna farm, though Senior Road really does not have a physical connection to the tower location.

The original tower was near the end of construction when the broadcast antenna was being lifted into place. The construction company had to jury-rig a lifting device of their own design, because the antenna lifting points were not designed for the final lift. The cable from the gin pole would intersect the dish of the antenna and damage it. The design analysis of the construction company was flawed, leading them to under-estimate the load on the bolts by a factor of 7. In addition the u-bolts they used were defective; the manufacturer rated them for twice the load they were good for. One of the u-bolts failed causing the antenna to fall and snap two of the guy wires holding the tower upright.[1] Three workers riding the antenna to the top of the tower and two standing on the tower itself were killed. The entire structure collapsed in less than 17 seconds. Video of the tower collapse shot by one of the station engineers on site for the topping off of the tower has been posted in numerous places (including YouTube).

When the tower was under construction, the newly launched KTXH-TV was using the tower for their local broadcasting with a side-mounted antenna. Months after the tower disaster, KTXH borrowed the former KRIV TV26 transmitter antenna located on the 700 foot (210 m) One Shell Plaza in downtown Houston (that building is seen in many pictures of downtown Houston. It is totally white with the orange/white antenna mast on top. All FM stations that were moving to Senior Road had used that site for their transmitter sites for many years).

The tower has wrap-around outside platforms at 900, 1100 and 1400 feet on the tower. The platforms support antennas and equipment cabinets used by various two way radio systems and remote pickup unit (RPU) receivers for radio broadcasters.

Heights:

  • Elevation of Site Above Mean Sea Level: 24.1 metres (79 ft)
  • Overall Height Above Ground (AGL): 600.7 metres (1,971 ft)
  • Overall Height Above Mean Sea Level: 624.5 metres (2,049 ft)
  • Overall Height Above Ground w/o Appurtenances: 569.8 metres (1,869 ft)


See also

References
  1. "TV Antenna Collapse". Engineering.com. Archived from the original (online pdf) on 25 December 2010. Retrieved 6 July 2018. Adapted from material by the Department of Philosophy and Department of Mechanical Engineering Texas A&M University NSF Grant Number DIR-9012252

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