PURCELLVILLE, Va. November 1, 2019 — Painting and maintenance work on the water tower has been completed. This work will ensure that the water tower is able to serve the Town’s needs for another 10 years. While the maintenance project was under way, the Town has been working with the wireless carriers (AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon) to relocate their antennas and other equipment back on the water tower so that the carriers can provide full service to residents and other customers in and around the Town.
During the course of the maintenance work, Town staff became aware that structural modifications to the water tower will be needed before the carriers can replace all of their equipment. The water tower structure is safe and in good condition, but further work is needed to account for the additional stress placed on the tower by all of the equipment the four carriers plan to install.
Design of the structural modifications is being completed by the cell carriers’ engineer and is being reviewed by the Town’s Engineer. The Town has issued a Request for Proposals for contractors to perform this work; quotes are due in early November. The Town intends to select a contractor promptly so that work can begin as soon as possible. Once a contract is signed, the work is required to be completed within 90 days, barring weather delays and unforeseen circumstances.
The carriers will require a minimum of six weeks to install their cellular arrays and appurtenant equipment. Town staff intends to work with the structural contractor and the carriers to develop a plan to allow installation of some cellular equipment while the contractor performs the structural modifications. The goal is to minimize the time necessary to complete the structural modifications so we can expeditiously restore full service to all four carriers.
