By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

RESERVE – Officials with AT&T said Monday a new cellular communication tower recently completed in the Reserve area will rectify a coverage gap for residents in St. John Parish.

The tower is one of 60 the service provider planned to build in Louisiana this year.

“It is a process that usually takes about a year to complete,” said spokeswoman Sue Sperry, who handles the Louisiana market. “We look at coverage gaps, location constraints and customer numbers before we move on erecting a tower.”

Sperry said a high volume of customer inquiries led to the decision to add another tower in the St. John area, specifically tremendous growth in the Reserve area. The new tower is situated between a tower along Airline Highway north of Garyville and another along Belle Terre Boulevard.

Sperry said the new tower, which is located near West 10th Street and River Road, is the tallest cellular tower in the area at about 300 feet.

She said the tower is known as a monopole, which means it is only meant for one carrier.

“The bigger towers with multiple antennae that you normally see along the interstate are set up to be used by multiple suppliers,” Sperry said. “This one is exclusive to us.”

The tower is built to withstand hurricane force winds. In the event of a massive power outage, Sperry said the tower will be equipped with a propane generator to keep it up and running.