Eshton Road Lock reopens at last
AFTER a prolonged stoppage the Leeds & Liverpool Canal at Eshton Lock in Gargrave reopened on May 25.
This meant for the first time since last autumn the whole length of the canal was again navigable to canal boats.
The first boat to come down through the lock, watched by members of the reconstruction team and folks living in the flats next to the canal, was Kennet, the ‘short boat’ owned and looked after by the Leeds & Liverpool Canal Society, followed down by two narrowboats.
Kennet was travelling from its base at Greenberfield Locks to Keighley to attend and be open to the public at the transport festival over the Jubilee bank holiday.
The new stonework in the lock wall is clearly visible being a lighter colour, but should weather over time and a grand job has been made of filling the depression and returfing the lock landing.
The lock had been closed over the winter from October 2, 2021, following the discovery of a depression in the towpath at the side of the lock wall.
Canal & River Trust engineers think water had got in behind the lock wall and caused it to bulge inwards to the lock, also creating the depression in the towpath.
Over winter the lock was drained and extensive repairs took place which included taking part of the lock wall down, repairing it with new locally sourced stone and installing piling behind the wall.
It was originally hoped the lock could have been repaired and reopened by Easter 2022, but this slipped back due to unprecedented rain levels in North Yorkshire during Storm Eunice in February.
Floodwater came over the upper dam installed to protect the work area and flowed through the lock, partially washing away the newly completed temporary working platform located in the lock. There were also more voids found behind the lock wall than anticipated and supply chain problems with materials contributed to the delay.