There is a couple of YouTube sites monitoring the progress using drones, writes Ralph Freeman.
At first CaRT was pleased about the PR, maybe less so now as Kier are not putting on a good show—many changes of mind, handling the same material many times—it's as if efficiency doesn't matter? I wonder why.
Anyway sticking to the theme Kier ain't no Telford or Jessop & Co here is the current status quo:
Whitchurch Embankment: Contractor Baffled by 'Historic Engineering' ?
Progress on the Whitchurch Embankment restoration has ground to a halt while main contractor Kier attempts to figure out how to proceed. Ground conditions have reportedly stumped engineers, with unexpected 'soft spots' encountered directly above the two historic brick culverts that run through the base of the structure.
What modern site managers are treating as an 'unforeseen, ground fault is, in fact, a deliberate feature of 18th century canal engineering. The soft areas consist of carefully placed puddled clay over the culvert crowns—a technique employed by Thomas Telford and William Jessop to distribute compressive loads evenly across the culvert brickwork and prevent point-loading on the arches beneath. Rather than accommodating these historical structural design choices, work has ceased while contractors deliberate over a path forward.
Perhaps they should take a leaf out of Telford's own playbook: bypass the unstable ground entirely and install a lightweight steel trough supported on durable, long-lasting pillars—strictly avoiding (short term) concrete.
The delay raises familiar questions about whether modern civil engineering contractors possess the specialised heritage understanding required to repair two century old canal infrastructure without compromising its original construction logic.
CRT/KIER don't seem to be on the same wavelength as Telford & Jessop, whose structures last 200+ years if maintained properly. Will the proposed replacement concrete trough last more than say half that time I ask ?