Holme Lock finally repaired

HOLME Lock on the Trent below Nottingham, that has been closed since March for repairs, opens tomorrow, Saturday, once more allowing passage of boats to and from the North East.

It was on the 21st of March, during routine maintenance that the lock floor had failed, just as the boating season was about to start, but the failure meant it was nearly two months before it could be repaired and reopened.

Gateway

The Trent is the gateway to the North East waterways — the Yorkshire waterways and the Fossdyke and Witham navigations to Boston, with only the Bridgewater allowing access in the West.

With so many boats awaiting to pass through the lock, a lock keeper will be on duty on from 12 noon to 7.30pm from Saturday to Tuesday to assist passage of boats, allowing the workers to complete the job. After this the lock will be open at normal times from 9.30am to 5.30pm daily, with a lock keeper on hand.  Outside these hours it can be boater operated.

Suffered failure

It was whilst carrying out the planned repairs to the gate at Holme Lock, that the floor of the lock downstream of the bottom gates suffered a failure resulting in a large ingress of water. It is believed that 'weathering' over many years of the Mercia mudstone underlying the concrete floor has created large voids. These voids have allowed the passage of water to the underside of the lock floor.

It was the removal of the water from the lock to carry out the works to the gate that created a pressure head resulting in a force on the lock floor that has caused the damage.