New reopening date for Crinan Canal
SCOTTISH Canals is anticipating reopening the Crinan Canal to boat traffic on April 30. This is the third year of work to replace lock gates along the canal, with the installation of new gates at Lock 15, Crinan sea lock, the focus this year, alongside upgrading operating equipment for new electrical gate actuators. Work is on schedule despite the winter storms and the new gates are in place in the sea lock.
A leak in the Crinan dummy lock was temporarily repaired last year. Dewatering of the canal basin allowed a full investigation and planned repair which will be carried out immediately after work on Lock 15 is complete. Subject to Scottish Canals obtaining the relevant regulatory consent (required as the historic importance of Scotland’s canals is recognised in their Scheduled Ancient Monument status), the reopening of the canal has been pushed back from mid-April to the end of the month. There was public outcry at the original proposed closure of the canal at Crinan to mid- May, with local businesses hoping that the project would have been completed by the end of March, in time for Easter. A compromise was reached with reopening planned for mid-April.
The dummy lock is in fact the original sea lock. The Crinan Canal was first opened in 1801. By the early 1930s the sea locks at each end of the canal (at Crinan and Ardrishaig) needed significant and costly repairs. It was decided to construct new sea locks at both locations, allowing the canal to be accessed during a wider window of the tides. At Crinan, the new lock was built to accommodate larger vessels and the basin was extended to act as a harbour.
The old lock became the ‘dummy lock’ with the downstream gates used to form a permanent shutter with a concrete-capped infill to seal it. Today the old chamber provides more mooring space.
The leak is in the old, sealed gates, caused over time by the action of the tides, resulting in extensive loss of the infill material, increased risk of structural failure and requiring a robust long-term repair.