Numerous Cellular Towers Planned for Western Sandhills

Plans for several new cellular communications towers in the western Sandhills were considered during 2014 by the Federal Aviation Administration. The structures are proposed for Grant county, Sheridan county, McPherson county, Thomas county and Cherry county.

These are the towers where the FAA has made a determination last year or just recently, according to the database available at the website of this federal agency, and where topographic maps indicate the precise location of the pending tower:

• Swan Lake North (in Grant county northwest of Vinton Valley); an antenna tower 350 feet in height for Viaero Wireless; record completion date January 7, 2015
  
• Lowe Ranch (just east of Lowe Ranch and Gross Valley); antenna tower 350 feet in height for Viaero Wireless; completion date 11/3/2014
  
• Whitman (one mile northwest of Doc Lake); antenna tower 358 feet in height for Viaero Wireless; completion date November 6, 2014
  
• Hyannis (atop a hill just to the east and southwest of the intersection of Highway 2 and 61); antenna tower 308 feet in height as represented by Viaero Wireless for Alltel Communications of Nebraska, Inc.; completion date November 28, 2014
  
• Ellsworth North (two miles south of Highland Flats); antenna tower 200 feet in height for Viaero Wireless; completion date May 12, 2014
  
• Minor Camp (eastward of Highway 61 about 2-3 miles southeast of the NET tower); antenna tower 200 feet in height for Viaero Wireless; completion date October 2, 2014
  
• Thedford (three miles north); antenna tower 330 feet in height for Consolidated Connect Inc. of Lincoln; completion date August 25, 2014
  
• Tryon (just northwest of Tryon); antenna tower 350 feet in height apparently for Viaero Wireless; record completion date March 25, 2014
  

The plan for a cellular tower proposed for the Pelican Beach Golf Course was submitted to the FAA on February 2, 2015, and a determination has not yet been made by the agency.

A summary of FAA records shows the on-going extent of temporary and permanent air obstructions proposals, representing communications towers, wind turbines, utility or light poles, power lines and even tall construction cranes. The number of records for the past five years are:

2014: 960

2013: 1379, including plans for wind turbines at Battle Creek, Broken Bow, Elgin, Fairbury, Greeley, Hallam, Neligh, Norfolk, O'Neill, Thedford (for southern Cherry county) and Verdigre

2012: 687

2011: 647

2010: 765

For 2015, there were already 99 case numbers issued as of the first week of February.