In 1974, it was succeeded by the Warsaw radio mast as the world's tallest structure. The Warsaw mast collapsed in 1991, again making the KVLY-TV mast the tallest structure in the world until the Burj Khalifa surpassed it in 2008. It became the third tallest when the Tokyo Skytree was completed in 2012, then the fourth tallest when the Shanghai Tower took third place in 2013. It remained the tallest structure in the Western Hemisphere, and the tallest broadcasting mast in the world until the antenna removal in 2019.
Location
The mast is located 3 miles (4.8km) west of Blanchard, North Dakota, halfway between Fargo and Grand Forks. It became the tallest artificial structure, and the first man-made structure to exceed 2,000 feet (610m) in height, upon the completion of its construction on August 13, 1963.
Construction
The tower was built by Hamilton Erection Company of York, South Carolina, and Kline Iron and Steel, and required thirty days to complete, at a cost of approximately $500,000[2] (roughly $4.98million today[3]). Construction was completed August 13, 1963.[4]
Owners
This section does not cite any sources. (March 2020)
Owned by Gray Television of Atlanta, Georgia, the tower broadcasts at 356 kW on channel 36 for television station KVLY-TV (channel 11 PSIP, an NBC/CBS affiliate) which is based in Fargo, North Dakota. The tower provides a broadcast area of roughly 9,700 square miles (25,000km2), which is a radius of about 55.6 miles (89.5km). CBS/CW+ affiliate KXJB-LD's translator K28MA-D also broadcasts on this tower at 15 kW on UHF channel 28 (also its virtual channel).
When the mast was built, the call letters of the television station for which it was built were changed to KTHI, the "HI" referring to the height of the mast. The top is reachable by a two-person service elevator (built by Park Manufacturing of Charlotte, North Carolina) or ladder.
Specifications
The tower consists of two parts: a lattice tower of 1,950 feet (590m);[5] topped by the transmittingantenna array of 53 feet (16m). The total height of both is 1,987 feet (606m). The antenna weighs 9,000 pounds (4.1t), the lattice tower weighs 855,500 pounds (388.0t), giving a total weight of 864,500 pounds (392.1t). It takes up 160 acres (65ha) of land with its guy anchors.[6][7] Its height above mean sea level is 2,962 feet (903m).
Federal rule change
Some time after its completion, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) imposed a policy that states, "Although there is no absolute height limit for antenna towers, both agencies have established a rebuttable presumption against structures over 2,000 feet above ground level." The FCC and FAA may approve a taller structure in "exceptional cases."[8]
Gallery
KVLY tower from a distance of about one mile (1.6km)
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article KVLY-TV_mast, and is written by contributors.
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