| UK. New canal channel of the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal officially opened to boating |
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| Wednesday, 10 May 2006 | |
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Waterway news: On Friday 5 May at 11.30am, a new section of the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal was officially opened to boats. Work first began on the construction of this channel in July 2005. The channel is a diversion of the main canal needed for the final stages of the Gloucester A40 Southwest Bypass, which will link earlier completed sections with Cole Avenue and the A38. The opening was attended by local schoolchildren aboard the Museum Trip Boat "King Arthur" dressed as pirates. The museum’s historic tugs and various other craft formed a colourful flotilla for the event. This is one of the largest scale canal constructions in the UK and the largest canal works for the 180 year old Gloucester & Sharpness Canal since the construction of Sharpness Docks in the 1870s. The channel measures about 300m in length, is 30m wide and 5m deep and has been constructed to bypass the existing 2 Mile Bend. British Waterways were instrumental in key areas of this design and worked closely with the Council to ensure its successful completion. British Waterways worked very closely with Gloucestershire County Council and its engineers to ensure that all navigation requirements have been met both during construction and for the future. The diversion was carefully planned so that no interruptions to navigations occurred. The next stage will be the construction of one of the largest swing bridges across any canal that British Waterways currently operates, which will be four lanes wide. This has been designed with major input from British Waterways, especially with regard to mechanical and electronic designs. British Waterways have signed an operating agreement with Gloucester County Council and will manage the bridge upon its completion in early 2007 |
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| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 10 May 2006 ) |
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