Breach repairs continue at Rishton
THE Canal & River Trust is continuing work to repair a collapsed embankment which swept a section of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal into the River Hyndburn at Rishton, Lancashire.
Subject to weather conditions, it is hoped to reopen the canal in late spring. It is estimated the work will cost nearly £1.7 million.
Senior project manager Dilwyn Parry said: “It’s taken a while to physically start work to fix this hole. We needed to solve the problem of getting all our equipment and vehicles to the remote site, and the scope of works is complex and had to be carefully planned out.
“Behind the scenes, specialists have been ensuring the ecology, heritage and environment around the breach is safeguarded and engineers have been working on the design plan required to repair the canal.”
Contractors working on behalf of the trust initially installed emergency dams on either side of the breach to secure the canal. A temporary road and construction site compound were established next to the breach and an access to the canal bed has been constructed to enable work to begin.
Around 3000 tonnes of stones and other materials will be used to reconstruct the canal and build a new culvert carrying a stream under the canal.
Dilwyn added: “We appreciate that this is a major disruption for people who enjoy the canal and towpath and we’re working hard to reopen the canal as quickly as possible.”