The KXJB-TV mast is a television transmitting tower in North Dakota, and at 2060 ft (628 m) it is the second-tallest artificial structure in the world, shorter by 3 ft (1 m) than the KVLY-TV mast which stands a few miles or kilometers away.
Located 3.5 miles (6 km) northeast of Galesburg, North Dakota (at ), it was completed in 1966, to replace the station's previous mast, a 1,085-foot (331 m) tower 15 miles (25 km) northeast of Valley City, North Dakota which was sold to KOVC , an FM radio station.
The tower has fallen and been rebuilt twice. The first collapse occurred at 9:08 A.M. February 14, 1968 when the rotor of a Marine helicopter severed some guy wires (all four aboard the helicopter were killed in the mishap). The television station was off the air for eight days, finally resuming broadcasts from their previous (KOVC) tower. A replacement mast of the same height as the one destroyed was completed in four and a half months.
The second tower fell during an ice storm which hit the area on April 6, 1997, subjecting it to wind gusts of 70mph and causing at least four inches (100 mm) of ice to accumulate on the structure, resulting in the structure's failure at 6:09 P.M.. Cable programming was resumed by 8:34 and broadcasts by 3 P.M. the following afternoon through coordination with other affiliates; a 735-foot (224 m) temporary tower was completed and resumed broadcasts by July 10. This tower still stands next to the full-height mast.
Work began on replacement of the full-height tower with a more durably-built structure on April 1, 1998, and had reached the tower's previous height by July 30. That day members of the construction crew affixed a four-foot (1.2 m) flagpole to the top of the tower, making the structure's height effectively 2064 ft (629 m), or one foot higher than the KVLY mast (the flagpole was later removed). Broadcasting for Channel 4 was switched to the new mast on August 15.
The antenna transmits at 97.7 kW for CBS affiliate KXJB-TV of Valley City; the station and tower are owned by Catamount Broadcasting of Fargo.
Other views
KXJB mast from a distance of about one mile
A section of the network of supporting guy wires
External links
