Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1541815
86 maconmagazine.com | December 2025/January 2026 the crew puts out cones on the side of the road to warn approaching cars and trucks of work being conducted. The downed pole is past a slight ravine, which also has broken concrete surrounding it. Once the crew painstakingly removes the wires from the pole, because those wires can possibly be recycled, they then pull up their longest truck, on which the damaged pole will be placed and taken back to the facility yard. But the process hits a snag. The hydraulic winch on the truck isn't working properly. Undeterred, the men descend the 10 feet or so where the pole lies, and the four of them carry the 20-to-30-foot object, weighing about 200 pounds, and secure it. They don't have to deal with the twisted metal of the guardrail, Smith explained. "GDOT [Georgia Dept. of Transportation] replaces guardrails," he said. That is just one phase of the job that he has to coordinate and/or collaborate with that agency and with Georgia Power. The team returned to the maintenance facility to unload the downed pole and places it among many others in the yard, then head to their next assignment, which is at the confluence of Walnut and Spring Streets near Downtown Macon, where a control box malfunction has caused several lights in the area to go out. People in neighborhoods often call the office about street light outages, and the team may find out upon arrival that the outage is a problem that is the responsibility of Georgia Power. Smith alleviates the situation by contacting the power company himself, in order to keep citizens from becoming frustrated. After finding the outage on Walnut St. the crew locates the cause of the problem, but to get to one of the lights, they must contend with tree limbs that are blocking access. They use a bucket truck, and James goes up in the bucket. The team uses a rope to hoist a small saw to James, who cuts down several limbs to gain access to the photoelectric eye and fuse within the small box. James replaces both items, the lights in the area are restored, and the team gathers the limbs on the ground and places them in the truck. THIS PAGE: The process of safely replacing a light pole.