THERE has been a failure of yet another culvert, this time on the Shropshire Union Canal below Ellesmere Port.
The culvert is between bridges 35 and 36 at Little Stanley where the M56 and M53 cross over the waterway, with the failure resulting in the canal being drained to isolate the section so that the full extent of the problem can by assessed with the possibility of emergency repairs, Keith Gudgin tells us.
Temporary dams
Work started this morning (Monday) to install two temporary fabric dams across the waterway that will provide a section of dewatered canal to enable a full inspection and also the facility to initiate emergency repairs if at all possible.
The waterway is therefore closed to navigation whilst the work is being carried out, though it is expected by the middle of the week it will be ascertained what work has to be done and when it can be reopened.
Locks chained-up
To prevent loss of water, there will be no navigation through the locks at Ellesmere Port, so they will be chained-up. Notices however are being posted along the route to warn boaters of the problem.
Though this is the furthest end of the Shropshire Union Canal, the stoppage is particularly awkward as the National Waterways Museum at Ellesmere Port has invited boaters to come to its free Open Weekend next Saturday and Sunday, with boats of course on their way.