WATCH VIDEO. A helicopter from Switzerland will help rebuild the Dutch TV transmitter tower in Hoogersmilde. The 300-metre-high tower collapsed last year on July 15, after a short blaze.
Work on the TV tower will start Tuesday, May 1. At the moment, radio and TV broadcasts are handled by an emergency mast from a lower altitude. A fast rebuild of the mast in Hoogersmilde therefore has high priority, said facilities company Novec, who is responsible for the site.
Earlier, the concrete tower on which the new tower will be placed was repaired. It was severely damaged during the fire when the mast broke in two pieces.
The work will begin with the placing of a 7.5 metre long mast on the tower. After that, a total of 51 sections of each 4 metres high and weighing 3.5 tons will complete the mast.
The antenna segments are constructed on the ground, after which a helicopter from Heli Swiss, will hoist them up one by one. On the top of the mast will sit a 10-meter long tube, for the DVB-T broadcasts of Digitenne.
If the weather conditions are favourable, work will be completed by the end of May, when the tower will have reached a total height of 303 metres. During the month of August, broadcasts can resume from the reconstructed tower.
WATCH VIDEO – A short news clip from RTV Drenthe on the completion of the reconstruction of the concrete tower (soundtrack in Dutch only, but some nice footage)
And a spectacular video on the actual fire of the TV mast and the mast falling down.
