Shropshire Star

Major work under way for restoration of Montgomery Canal

A major step forward in the restoration of the Montgomery Canal has seen the groundwork prepared for the reconstruction of one of the bridges on the waterway.

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The Montgomery Canal

Volunteers joined forces with the Tudor Griffiths group which supplied the materials for the work at cost. Mr Griffiths is also supplying materials at cost for the reconstruction of the Schoolhouse Bridge in Long Lane, Crickheath, near Oswestry when it is rebuilt next year.

The family provided the land for the nature reserves by Aston Locks, near Queen’s Head, and Tudor Griffiths volunteered when the locks were rebuilt.

Restore the Montgomery Canal group chairman Michael Limbrey thanked him and the volunteers who fenced the area to be used for the project and then created a bypass track for the use of heavy goods vehicle which would not be able to use alternative routes past the bridge site when the road is closed.

“In the coming weeks the water main in the lane will be diverted through the fenced area thanks to the landoweners’ permission.

Contractors will be drill an underground route through the fields and under the canal bed, avoiding the bridge site, ready for Severn Trent Water to make the connection to the existing main and to cut off the supply across the bridge site.”

Severn Trent has notified residents in the area that it may close the road while the connections are being made.

Bolster

The project to reconstruct the bridge is scheduled to start next spring and will involve closing the highway while the bridge is rebuilt to modern highway standards.

Mr Limbrey said: “We have to excavate the old embankment across the canal and construct the reinforced concrete base and abutments. Contractors will then install the bridge arch.

"This will be one of the major canal restoration projects of 2021 and it has to be completed in a matter of months.

“We are always on the lookout for more volunteers, especially anyone with construction site experience – though that’s not essential.

“We are particularly keen to bolster the site management team for next year: this could be valuable experience for a younger person looking to build up a CV, or an opportunity for someone between jobs or retired or approaching retirement.

"We are very grateful to local landowners for generously allowing us to use their land and to Shropshire Council and the Canal & River Trust for their support and assistance over the years we have been planning this project.

"The rebuilt bridge will remove a major obstruction to our ambition to reopen the canal to Llanymynech and into mid-Wales.”

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