IT WAS BACK IN AUGUST when United Utilities started work on the burst water main under the Leigh Branch of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal.
And now four months later it is repaired and open to navigation.
Huge and complex
It was I Dugald Campbell who told of this 'huge and complex civil engineering project' in Wigan that was showing no sign of reaching a conclusion after a water main burst underneath the Leeds & Liverpool Canal.
And it turned into a huge and complex engineering project indeed, stopping all navigation on the Leigh Branch until this week, as now allowing use of the seven miles of waterway.
Because there are no locks nearby, dams had to be created at either side of the rupture and then the water drained away so that work could then start on mending the pipe.
Further engineering work would then have to be carried out to ensure the canal itself doesn’t then leak when refilled.
100 0f tons of clay
This was helped by the hundreds of tons of clay used for lining the section together with metal sheeting along the length effected.
Even though it took from August to repair, it was completed sooner than expected as a spokesman for National Utilities told at the start to expect them working in the area until spring 2026.