SECRET PURPOSE OF BRIDGE TO NOWHERE IS FINALLY EXPLAINED
IT is a mystery bridge that leads nowhere. For almost two decades the structure has spanned the M6 Toll near Birmingham.
On one side is the village of Hammerwich, and the other is Brownhills in Walsall.
The bridge is actually part of a proposed aqueduct that was constructed in 2003, the year when the privatelyfunded M6 Toll was built.
And, as it will take
£40 million to complete, it’s unlikely to be finished any time soon.
Its origins have now been revealed by YouTube channel AutoShenanigans.
The aqueduct is, in fact, still a work in progress. It was built to carry the Lichfield Canal over the motorway.
But work has been ongoing to restore Lichfield Canal since 1990 and volunteers behind the project say the aqueduct is unlikely to be completed due to funding and land ownership issues.
The M6 Toll initially threatened the restoration of the Lichfield Canal. As a result, the aqueduct was built in August 2003. Most of the work was funded and organised by Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration
Trust (LHCRT) and formed a major part of the restoration project.
Carole Mills, chair of Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust, said: “We’re extremely proud of our volunteers who worked hard to get the aqueduct in place at a critical time. Our next aim for the aqueduct is to establish a footpath over it, before the canal itself is completed, making a fully connecting extension to the Heritage Towpath Trail.
“This has taken longer than we’d hoped because, in seeking planning permission and registering our land with the Land Registry, some issues were identified which need resolution.
“Midland Expressway Limited, which operates the motorway, requires a raising of the parapets to the aqueduct (incurring more significant costs) and there are some very small parcels of land which need to be transferred into Trust ownership.
“Only then will we be able to submit a very detailed planning application. We will also need to raise more funds.”