COME THE END OF THIS YEAR and it will be a year since the breach in the Bridgewater Canal.
That occurred on the 1st January of this year, Janet Friend reports.
And it still is not repaired and does not look like being so for many months.
Into its next phase
With the Bridgewater Canal Company stating the repair has moved into its next phase, with stabilisation works nearing completion and the formal design process for reinstating the embankment underway.
SLR Consulting has been appointed as the principal consultant to lead on the design and project management of the reinstatement.
And though we are told that since January, extensive work has been undertaken to protect and secure the canal, there is little to show for the actual repair a year since heavy rain caused the breach.
In September, the adjoining landowner, the National Trust told that testing showed that the flood-affected soils at the site do not pose a risk to human health from chemical or microbiological sources, that then allowed full access for specialist surveys, which have now been completed.
Further surveys
We are told the results are assisting the design process, which is underway. So now further targeted ecological and environmental surveys will take place in the coming weeks.
Once this is completed subjected to the outcomes of ecological surveys and engineering design, it is hoped that construction works will begin in the summer of 2026.
And it is expected to be completed by 2027—taking at least two years to repair.
So don't make any plans for cruising the Bridgewater Canal at all next year!