Tower safe; Paulding street reopened

VW independent/submitted information

PAULDING — The Paulding County Board of Commissioners received confirmation Wednesday from a structural engineer that the county-owned communications tower located at the west end of the county fairgrounds parking lot is not currently at risk for failure.

The reported overloads in the engineering study produced for Paulding Putnam Electric Cooperative Inc. are for iced condition (40-mph wind with 1 inch of radial ice). For the no ice condition (90-mph wind with no ice), the tower and foundations all have significant reserve capacity.

The reported overloads are due to the fact that the newer ANSI/TIA-222-G standard includes more stringent ice requirements for this location, compared to the 222-F standard used for the original tower design.

Effective immediately, Fairground Drive in the Village of Paulding will be reopened for travel.