Another Stroud obstruction to go

Published: Friday, 25 June 2010

A NEW bridge to replace the obstruction on the Stroud Canal at Upper Mills Industrial Estate in Stonehouse, has  been approved.

At a cost of £400,000, the contract has gone to Britannia Construction of Cheltenham, who will spend around 10 weeks designing the bridge and a further 10 weeks constructing it, Alan Tilbury reveals.

Canal rerouted

It will be built out of brick and concrete, and will  allow the  low level bridge that was originally  a swing bridge to be removed, but will mean that to accommodate the height difference between the old and new bridges, a 110 yards length of canal will have to be rerouted.

When the bridge has been constructed, the canal will be free of obstructions between Stonehouse Ocean and Ryeford Double Lock, allowing dredging work to take place around Christmas.

Principal funders for the project are the Heritage Lottery Fund, the South West Regional Development Agency, SDC and Gloucestershire County Council.