Flagpole transport: length, weight and the Traffic Code

A flagpole is a long item and, in the larger sizes, a heavy one. A 12-metre pole does not fit in a car, and a 30-metre polygonal pole may need a lorry and a crane. This guide brings together what the technical sheets say about weight and assembly and what the Brazilian Traffic Code provides for carrying loads.

Length and weight

B&B Iluminação’s datasheet gives the approximate weights of its galvanised steel poles:

The weights vary by 5% depending on manufacture. The embedded pole also has 1 metre embedded, so the tube is longer than the clear height. For greater heights, Metalsinter makes polygonal poles of 18 to 30 metres, according to the sheet published on AECweb, which require other means of transport and lifting.

Poles in sections

Telescopic poles are made of tubes of decreasing diameter. In B&B’s sheet, the tubes are joined by a removable joint, with an inner sleeve and six bolts, or by a fixed joint, welded. With removable joints, the pole can be carried in shorter sections and assembled on site; with fixed joints, it travels in one piece. The guide to types of flagpoles describes these forms.

The Traffic Code

The Brazilian Traffic Code (Law 9,503 of 1997) has general rules that also apply to flagpoles:

• passenger vehicles: under article 109, goods may be carried in vehicles intended for passengers only in accordance with the rules of Contran; article 248 makes carrying excess load in breach of those rules a serious offence;
• securing the load: under article 102, goods vehicles are equipped to prevent the load from spilling onto the road, according to Contran’s requirements;
• loads beyond the limits: under article 101, a goods vehicle that does not fit within Contran’s weight and dimension limits may be granted, by the authority responsible for the road, a special transit permit, for a set period, valid for each journey or for a period of time. The permit does not relieve the holder of liability for damage to the road or to third parties (paragraph 2).

Protecting the coating

Hot-dip galvanised steel is protected by a layer of zinc. Knocks and scratches during loading, lashing and lifting can go through this layer and expose the steel to corrosion. Protection at the support and lashing points preserves the coating. The guide to flagpole materials covers galvanising.

Unloading and lifting

On arrival, the pole is unloaded and raised onto the foundation. Long metal poles, lifted near the street, may come close to the power grid. Neoenergia Elektro points out that long metal materials, such as reinforcing bars and aluminium straightedges, are handled without tilting them towards the wires, and that approaching the lines of 13,800 volts or more can cause a high-intensity electrical discharge. When manoeuvring lorries, the company advises checking the height of the lorry in relation to the grid. The guide to installing a flagpole covers the foundation, and the guide to flagpole safety the power grid.