Dam Bust!
A major milestone was achieved at the recent working weekend held by the Shropshire Union Canal Society at Crickheath on the Montgomery Canal.
The dam separating the recently restored length was removed to allow the length currently under restoration to be linked.
“The June work party was preceded by three days pumping out the rewatered section of Phase 1B. This was necessary in order to allow removal of the temporary dam separating the rewatered section from the current work site. Issues with several pumps made this activity rather fraught but thankfully, with much nursing, the job was done by Thursday lunchtime ready for the work party the following day” said Tom Fulda, Restoration project manager. “On Friday, we welcomed back nine corporate volunteers from Arcadis, both old friends and new, who provided a very welcome boost by swelling the numbers to thirty. We are always grateful”.
First job on Friday morning was to peel back the liners from the temporary dam and remove the clay, storing it for future use. Having removed the dam, the channel in this area was profiled in readiness for lining and blocking the following day.
Whilst these plant operations were in progress, the large numbers of remaining volunteers entertained themselves on a variety of valuable manual jobs. The first course of soft bank blocks laid last work party were filled with soil and the second course laid and filled. Riprap (large aggregate) on the offside bank was covered with topsoil. With no plant access possible, this was achieved by filling buckets, barrowing them along the bed of the channel to the required location, carrying them up the blocked slope and tipping over the riprap. A total of 75 metres was covered in this way. We lost count of the number of buckets filled.
By Saturday, a further area of channel had been prepared ready for lining and blocking. The current work area is characterised by a couple of very significant features. Access: there is no haul road, the only access is achieved via a gap in the towpath embankment, created decades ago, which will have to be filled in as the last step to completing this section. As we now work from both directions towards exiting via this gap, the remaining area becomes increasingly congested, and plant manoeuvrability reduces. Channel dimensions: by the access point, the channel widens out substantially on a bend. The dimensions vary constantly, and much greater quantities of materials are required compared with the rest of the channel. Nevertheless, the gap left to be lined and blocked has reduced significantly – 19 metres of (very wide) channel remains.
Towpath work resumed over the course of the work party, continuing southwards towards Schoolhouse Bridge and also narrowing the gap at the access point. A total of 90 metres of towpath was constructed.
- Pumping out the restored section
- Filling the off side
Vegetation works comprised weeding around recently planted hedging whips (which are thriving thanks to the care and attention provided to them) plus strimming along the edge of the towpath on both the current work site and the previous – a total length of 1.3km.
Once the current work area is completed and the gap in the towpath closed, we shall relocate the works compound to Schoolhouse Bridge. Preparations have begun. Over the weekend, Fred started the fit out of a new (to us) welfare cabin deploying his immaculate joinery skills in the construction of storage racking.
We are always looking for new volunteers and members. Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer should see shropshireunion.org.uk/work-party-schedule for details of dates and contacts. Please encourage family, friends and colleagues to become members of the society –– please see shropshireunion.org.uk/membership for details of how to join. Note that you can join online and pay your subs online.
Any donation you can make will help restoration efforts. Thank you.
Featured image: Thank you to Arcadis
All images: Shropshire Union Canal Society
