E2PM engineers were selected by a major wireless telecommunication carrier to investigate the required upgrades to the existing high tension tower foundation for the new loads imposed by the changes in the structural design criteria for high tension towers. The challenges posed by this project is the fact that the tower was located on the crest of a hill with poor access by construction equipment and the subsurface condition were characterized by loose sands with low strength. E2PM geotechnical and structural engineers investigated several options and ultimately selected a novel tower foundation underpinning. The existing tower foundation was originally designed to resist uplift loads with deep steel grids anchored with the soil self-weight. E2PM’s engineers design concrete footings that were anchored with drilled helical piers that would be concrete grouted. This approach allowed for the installation of the drilled anchors without any disruption to the tower operation. Thus once installed the concrete footing could be poured to tie the tower together. Temporary tower bracing was designed to safely anchor the tower during construction.