Historic Sterling tower set for removal along I-76 median

A 700-foot telecommunications tower in the median of Interstate 76 near Sterling was taken down after months of engineering and coordination with the Colorado Department of Transportation, local emergency responders and other stakeholders. The structure, which was first licensed by the Federal Communications Commission in 1956 as a relay broadcast tower, had stood as a landmark on the Sterling skyline for nearly seven decades.

Industrial Communications West, LLC scheduled the removal for June 18, weather permitting, and the work required a controlled demolition designed to make the tower fall in a pancake or S-shaped pattern. Because the tower sat in the middle of a major travel corridor, Interstate 76 was set to close for a short window between Exit 125 in Sterling and Exit 149 in Crook during the morning hours, with eastbound and westbound traffic diverted to U.S. Highway 138.

The closure was expected between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. and was projected to last about 30 minutes to one hour. Officials estimated the detour would add about 20 minutes of travel time for drivers crossing the area. The setup underscored how carefully the project had to be staged: work in a highway median left little margin for error, especially on a structure that had to come down without putting motorists, crews or nearby responders at risk.

Jon Becker, president of Industrial Communications West and Industrial Tower West, has tied the company’s Colorado work to a broader expansion of its network. In a 2024 presentation to the Colorado Cell Phone Connectivity Study Committee, Becker said Viaero had 313 sites in Colorado, more than 900 miles of fiber installed and more than $23 million invested in Colorado technology resiliency over the prior three years.

For Sterling and Logan County, the tower’s removal marked a visible change along one of the region’s most important transportation routes. The town’s historic backdrop includes the Logan County Courthouse and the Union Pacific Railroad Depot, and the skyline shift on I-76 added another sign that the area’s infrastructure continues to evolve as older communications structures give way to newer network systems.