Now, TPWD will consider its options, put together some estimates and work with an engineering firm to identify the next steps moving forward. I wouldn’t even fathom an estimate on the timing,” Lightfoot said. “A complete overhaul of the tramway, and you’re talking about some pretty rugged, jagged terrain out there, and it would have to go in the identical location that it’s at now, so it would be a sizeable project indeed. He said what started off as a $250,000 maintenance project ballooned into a multi-million dollar construction project. The engineering analysis, Lightfoot said, found the tram needed to upgrade more than just its control system in order to meet modern standards. Lightfoot said department was in the process of starting a maintenance project on the tramway to replace the control system. This past summer, an engineer review concluded that in order for the tramway to be kept up with modern standards, it would need a complete overhaul, which would be estimated at “millions of dollars,” according to the release. It was then donated to the state parks department in 1997 and re-opened in 2001 after a renovation. The Tramway was built to provide maintenance to television transmission towers, including KTSM’s, on the top of the Franklin Mountains. The decision was made because an analysis concluded “the tram has surpassed its life expectancy and is no longer suited for public use. Out of an abundance of caution, TPWD has closed the tramway while it considers its options,” the release said. “The tram unfortunately has outlasted its life expectancy and would require some major overhaul to get it up to code standards,” Steve Lightfoot, TPWD spokesperson said. The closure was announced by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department on Tuesday in a news release on its website. Wyler Aerial Tramway has been closed to the public indefinitely after an inspection found it has surpassed its life expectancy.
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