Project Overview

Berglund Construction was tasked by the US General Services Administration to remove an unstable flag pole at the top of the landmarked 220 S. State building. The flagpole which was roughly 320 feet above grade, was deemed a contributing element and therefore needed to be removed in one piece. The building does not have electricity or working elevators, and the existing roof structure could not support pipe scaffolding to remove the 50’ tall flag pole.

Berglund developed a plan to install the required rigging and an engineered personnel basket with two Berglund tradespeople to safely remove the flag pole with a 350 ton crane. The work required substantial pre-planning, including GPR of State Street, engineering of the bearing location, certification of the personnel basket, and lane closures with traffic rerouting. The engineered rigging system was installed and the base was cut, allowing the pole to safely be lowered to the ground. It will be stored for replication or reinstallation at a later date.