THOUGH IT WAS UNDERSTOOD the Anderton Boat Lift would be reopened by the end of this year, this is not so.
Working by May next year
The aim now is to have it working again in May of next year, Keith Gudgin reports.
Canal & River Trust claim that it is focused on finding a solution to get the lift operational again while we look to secure the larger investment for its long-term future.
Our picture shows the reopening of the lift, when even the the gates onto the Trent & Mersey Canal would not open, so we Press were taken back down without the promise of the cruise on the canal in 2002. Our lower picture shows when it was being rebuilt the year previously.
But now when it reopens it is told that it is aiming to open just one caisson in May 2027.
The trust claims that since the closure of the lift it has carried out extensive work to identify the best way to repair and modify the caisson gate lifting mechanisms to prevent similar failures happening again, it telling:
Cause of failure
Several options were considered and in Autumn 2025, after the investigation into the cause of failure had been completed, the detailed engineering design began. The design considered a solution that would remove the need for cables and provide a robust and reliable lifting mechanism. However, as the designs have progressed, the complexity of doing this on such a historic structure has led to the scope, and the forecast cost, increasing significantly—to the point where that option is currently neither practical nor affordable. Consequently, we have needed to consider an alternative solution, based more closely on the existing cable system,