When we think of tall towers, Manhattan or Dubai with its skyscrapers comes to mind, but many of the taller structures are not buildings.
Dubai’s Burj Khalifa skyscraper breaks all records. At 828 meters tall, it is the tallest man-built structure in history. The second tallest tower is still under construction, and is scheduled to open in 2022. The Merdeka 118 tower in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, will be 679 meters high.
But until the opening arrives, the second tallest structure, and the third, and many of the following, are not skyscrapers but communication antennas. They are very thin metallic structures that exceed 600 meters in height.
Towers must be properly signposted, as they pose a potential collision risk for aircraft. The high end lights need to be changed from time to time, work reserved for people without vertigo, like this operator of the KDLT TV tower in South Dakota.
The technical name of these towers is reinforcement or cable-stayed mast. In architecture, supports are pieces placed diagonally to hold a vertical or horizontal structure. In the case of these towers, they are diagonal cables that hold the towers to the ground and transform them into a flexible structure, capable of withstanding the blows of wind, rain or earthquakes, but, as we will see, only up to a certain point.
The mast can have radio antennas mounted on top of it, or the entire structure can function as a radiant mast antenna. In the latter case, the mast must be isolated from the ground. Most of these towers were used for analogue radio and television transmissions, especially in places like the United States, where they had to cover enormous distances. Digitization has led to the withdrawal of many of these engineering giants.
To get to know these fascinating structures a little better, this is the list of the tallest radio towers in the world.
Warsaw radio tower
Located in Gabin, Poland, it was the tallest tower in the world until the completion of the Burj Khalifa and, at 646.38 meters high, it ranked second until the new skyscraper in Malaysia is completed. The problem is that the tower no longer exists, as it collapsed in 1991. One of the last radio towers built under the communist regime, the mast was designed for its height and ability to transmit the nation’s “propaganda of successes” to remote areas. like Antarctica. The site cannot be visited, but the new tower that replaces it can be seen from afar.
KRDK TV Tower, North Dakota, USA
We know North Dakota from the great Fargo movie and the series that followed. This state is also home to the tallest structure in the country, at 627.8 meters. That position is disputed, however, by the 640-metre-high Petronius oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, but many say it doesn’t count, as only 75 meters protrude from the water level.
The KRDK-TV tower was completed in 1966 and has since collapsed and been rebuilt twice. The first collapse was in 1968, when the rotor of a Navy helicopter cut some cables. All four passengers on the helicopter died in the crash. The second tower fell during an ice storm in 1997, subjecting it to 110 km/h wind gusts, causing at least ten cm of ice to accumulate on the structure, causing it to collapse under the weight. Next to it a temporary 240 meter tower was built, which is now small next to the third tower, which was completed in 1998 with the same original height plus a flag, and is still standing.
KXTV / KOVR Tower, California, USA
The KXTV / KOVR tower rises 624.5 m above the town of Walnut Grove, California. Built in 1986, it is the tallest structure in California, the third tallest cable-stayed mast in the world and the seventh tallest structure that ever lived, including the destroyed Warsaw radio mast. Nearby are two towers of similar height, the KVIE-TV Tower and the Hearst-Argyle Tower, measuring 607 and 609 meters respectively, forming an impressive antenna “farm” on the east side of the Sacramento River.
The tower is also a magnet for BASE jumpers (who parachute onto buildings, bridges or mountains). A BASE jumper was captured and detained in 2005 when his parachute caught on one of the tower’s support lines and he had to be rescued by firefighters. Since then, security at the site has been tightened.
KATV Tower, Arkansas, USA
The KATV tower was a 609.6 m high television mast built near Redfield, Arkansas, in 1967. When built, it was the second tallest structure in the world, after the KVLY-TV tower in North Dakota. It was because in January 2008 the tower collapsed by luck, without warning, and the cause remains unknown. There were no serious injuries, the structure broke into three pieces when it fell, for what it was designed for in this case.
The tower has not been rebuilt. In its place, a new tower was built on a nearby mountain, lower in height but offset by the higher elevation of the terrain.
KCAU-TV Tower, Iowa, USA
The KCAU-TV television station tower is a cable-stayed mast located in Sioux City, Iowa. The tower was built between 1965 and 1967 and is 609.9 meters tall, making it the tallest structure in Iowa and one of the tallest in the world.
KCAU-TV turned off its analogue signal, via VHF channel 9, in 2009. The station’s digital television signal was relocated from its UHF channel 30 before the transition to VHF channel 9, so the antenna is still in service.
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