Email: Oxford Canal closure

I suspect Chris Powis is correct. 10 days is the maximum time the job could take if everything went wrong.

It is the same with road closures for maintenance. Any Road Traffic Order made by the responsible authority will allow a road works schedule for (say) three months (or more) then hidden in the small print is the sentence, 'The work is expected to take three days', or some such figure.

Undoubtedly when the bridge is gone in 24 hours British Waterways will trumpet the fact as a success. One supposes that the 10 days is also the time the contractors will take to:

Assemble all the necessary equipment at the site, including tea cabin and toilets etc., and to clear the site after the event. Perhaps someone at British Waterways has not thought of the fact for most of this time the canal would remain navigable. Clearly Heath & Safety rules would preclude any navigation whilst lifting was taking place, but other than that (and the actual demolition) boats could be allowed through.

The contractor will (should) have been asked to provide a Risk Assessment and a Method Statement. This might of course include the building (and removal) of two coffer dams, the draining (and re-filling) of the bridge section (in order that the retrieval of any debris could be carried out without damage to the lining of the canal). Taken to extremes there is almost no end to the possibilities that might have to be covered.

Tony Collins