Repairs Underway On Historic Marconi Tower

CHATHAMPORT – Crews are wrapping up work on one of the three iconic radio towers on the Marconi RCA campus, under the watchful eye of preservationists — and ospreys.

 Funded through the community preservation committee, the work involves the completion of important structural repairs on the lattice tower closest to the Chatham Marconi Maritime Center. One of the remaining parts of the 1914 wireless receiving station’s antenna field, the tower is included in the property’s listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

 A survey of the towers revealed severe degradation of some of the diagonal steel beams and rods that stabilize the structure, as well as surface rust in some places. Additionally, years of weathering have caused spalling on the concrete footings at the base of the tower. Crews have been working on site for several weeks, and this week appeared to be applying paint to parts of the structure.

 The work is being done by Valley Restoration, LLC, of Litchfield, Conn., under a $189,000 contract.

 A potential complication is the presence of ospreys, which have traditionally used the tower as a nest site. Last week, an osprey was seen perched on the tower above workers’ heads, watching their movements. As of this week, the bird appeared to have started building a nest at the top of the tower, but did not seem to have made much progress.

 The contract stipulates that the contractor coordinate with local wildlife services to relocate any active nests on the tower, ensuring that the work complies with the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and any Massachusetts wildlife protection laws. There has been no conflict so far, said Principal Projects and Operations Administrator Terry Whalen.

 “The project is targeted for completion prior to an active nest being established,” he said. The target completion date is April 15.

 The Marconi campus has three steel lattice towers; initially, the town sought CPC funding to complete the restoration of two of the three towers at a cost of $455,400, but a funding shortfall prompted the CPC to approve money for only one, at a maximum cost of $200,000. 

 “Repairs and restoration of the two remaining lattice towers on the ‘waterside triangle’ adjacent to Ryder’s Cove are targeted for late fall pending funding approval at 2026 annual town meeting,” Whalen said. 

 Work on the tower has not been without challenges, he added.

 “Cold temperatures, snow, and high winds did contribute to some minor timing and project delays, but the project is back in full gear with more typical weather conditions returning,” Whalen said.