Abstract: Taking a substation framework with lightning rods in a 500 kV substation as an example, the full-scale static load test of the intersecting joint based on the original was designed and performed. The bearing capacity and strain distribution characteristics of the joint were analyzed. On this basis, a full-scale static load test of the reinforced intersecting joint was also conducted and compared with the former test. The results showed that the original designed intersecting joint of the lightning rod had poor flexural capacity and unreasonable details, which could be easily torn along the weld under the action of out-of-plane bending moment. When adding stiffeners to the joint, the problem of stress concentration on the joint could be effectively alleviated, resulting in a significant improvement of the bearing capacity and flexural stiffness of the strengthened joint.