High-wire act under way

It's not for the faint of heart, but communications officials say a major project under way Thursday is necessary.

Workers began a literal high-wire act in disassembling an out-of-commission transmission tower near Red Wing High School. Charter Communications - which operated the tower - ceased broadcasting from it in the spring, replacing its broadcast with fiber-optic cable transmission, said Bill Orris, Charter's head end technician for the region.

The company ordered the now-obsolete tower to be taken down this week.

The 400-foot tower will come down 150 feet at a time, Orris said.

He watched as a worker for Hy-Lander Tower Systems Inc. went to work at the top of the structure. The 400-foot climb, which Orris used to make before Charter restricted its employees from doing it due to liability concerns, can be a mixed bag.

On the one hand, you get a great look at the Mississippi River Valley and all of Red Wing.

"The view up there is fantastic," Orris said.

But there's a flip side to that coin.

"It gets scary when the wind is blowing," he said.

He expected disassembly to take just over two days. The project also included removing 12 satellite dishes, though Orris said Charter will keep one at the site as a backup.

The tower also once provided communications for the Goodhue County Sheriff's Office. Sheriff Dean Albers estimated the tower has stood for 25 years.

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