Cell tower near former Chalk Hill School coming to Monroe
MONROE — ARX Wireless, a North Haven-based telecommunications company, is set to begin construction of a new cell tower in the wooded area behind the former Chalk Hill school, according to First Selectman Kenneth Kellogg.
The cell tower, which has a 176-foot antenna, will increase the coverage radius in the area further than the current set-up — a temporary truck with a 60-foot antenna called a Cell on Wheels — and improve service from 3G to 4G, according to a coverage map presented by ARX to the town.
“ARX is looking forward to fulfilling a communications need in this area of Monroe,” ARX Chief Executive Officer Keith Coppins said Friday.
Coppins said construction will start on April 15 and should be completed in approximately 90 days.
Some infrastructural components need to be added to the site before ARX can begin construction of the tower, Kellogg said. He said a service road needs to be built and an area for a generator as well.
Once those are built, ARX will bring in the tower itself and construct it, which is expected to be completed by the fall of this year should everything stay on schedule, Kellogg said.
Coppins said that AT&T is going to go before the state Siting Council to get clearance to use the tower. It is also designed to service Verizon, T-Mobile and Dish, should any of them need a location in the area, he said.
Kellogg said he has heard from parents that they have had issues reaching their children at pickup and drop off at Jockey Hollow and Fawn Hollow because of service issues. Kellogg himself said there are spots near Jockey Hollow where he cannot make or receive calls.
ARX has agreed to the town’s request that its construction — scheduled for 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. — will not interfere with drop-off and pick-up times at either of the neighboring schools, according to a release Kellogg sent out on April 1.
“The company agrees that there is sufficient room in the parking area and at the cell tower site to stage the necessary equipment without interfering with traffic or the use of the fields behind Chalk Hill,” Kellogg said in the release.
Coppins said the company has established times for its workers to “arrive and depart the property so it does not interfere with pickup and drop off times.”
The electrical “trench” will be done while students are on break from April 18 to 22, Coppins said.
The tower will not interfere with any possible re-use or re-purposing of Chalk Hill since it is in the woods, Kellogg said.
ARX has cell towers built and in planning all around the Unites States, including others in Fairfield and New Haven counties.