The three sections of the tower are ready for assembly on the site leased by the borough from Christ Church United Methodist on Ridge Road. The author of the church’s signs, though, has a higher level of communication in mind. (Click to enlarge)

Less a communications black hole than a large, annoying pothole in space that almost can’t be avoided, a gap in phone service has nettled Fair Haven residents and passersby pretty much since the dawn of the cellular phone service.

But the purported fix is nearing a milestone on a 60-by-60-foot patch of land leased from the United Methodist Christ Church on Ridge Road.

Pending positive results on the hardness of a newly poured concrete base, erection of a 140-foot-tall monopole tower could be complete as soon as the end of the day Friday, says Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon, in his private capacity as the borough’s consultant on the project.

He estimates that three carriers who’ve committed to the facility — T Mobile, Verizon Wireless and AT&T — could be in service by the end of September, held up only by as long as it takes for JCP&L to supply power to the site.

A fourth carrier that had been expected to be on board, Sprint, is wavering because of financial difficulties, O’Scanlon says. But he says he expects it, too, will decide to place antennae on the pole.

The pole, sited next to the Fair Haven Fields nature area, will stand about 60 feet above the tree line, says O’Scanlon. And it won’t be dressed up to look like a tree.

“Trees used to be something everyone wanted. But they never look like a tree, and people say, ‘We don’t have giant Sequoias in this part of the world,’ ” he tells redbankgreen.

This one will be galvanized steel, but it’s designed to be as unobtrusive as possible, with shorter layers of antennae and set well off Ridge Road.

O’Scanlon says at least 30 surrounding trees that might have been destroyed have instead been saved by careful design of the site and the service road that leads to it.

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