New microwave towers are helping to optimize the reliability of Hoosier Energy’s communication system in infrastructure and operations.

The latest to be completed is the Bedford Tower, which in December followed on the heels of new towers at Bloomington Primary and Kingston. Next up will be a new tower at Ramsey, with other towers slated to receive extensions.

The new tower, just a few long par-5s southeast of Otis Park Golf Course in Bedford, stands 285 feet in the air. It consists of approximately 12 20-foot sections atop the base, with lights and dishes topping it all off.

Jackson County REMC provided crucial assistance prior to the start of construction by putting service underground so that the new tower could be safely accessed, built, and maintained. Chastain Excavating did on-site civil work, while UTS Construction coordinated the project, and Bowlin Communications was the tower contractor.

For Hoosier Energy Safety Team Lead Phil Ballard, putting the actual tower together was just the icing on a complicated cake.

“I’m focused on a little bit of everything,” Ballard said. “The stability of the ground, pinch points, tripping hazards, fall protection — it’s hazardous work.”

“Anytime you have a crane on site making lifts, you’ve got those hazards as well,” said Ballard. “Your rigging straps and components have to be inspected to make sure it’s adequate for the job.”

And then there is the crew on the tower itself, putting the pieces together as the crane lifts them into place.

“These guys never come down, which makes for a long day,” Ballard said. “Fatigue factors into it, both physical and mental. Think how cold it is down here on the ground, then how cold it is up there. As that sets in, complacency comes into play, and that’s how injuries can occur.”

But Ballard has been nothing but impressed by the communication between the workers both on the ground and in the air, first at Kingston and now at Bedford. That’s made the projects safer and easier to complete.

The various departments at Hoosier Energy involved in the projects also make them easier: operations (primarily communications but also substation, transmission line, system control, stores, and scheduler), safety, design engineering, controls engineering, IT/network engineering, vegetation, facilities, purchasing, real estate, and environmental.