Post by les on Sept 28, 2012 7:26:45 GMT
The following update has been received from the Canal and River Trust
Trent & Mersey Canal – Update 27th September 2012.
Following the rainfall of the last few days the Trent and Mersey Canal has suffered a breach at Dutton Hollow, near Preston Brook and significant damage has been done to a supporting embankment at Croxton Flash near Middlewich. In response and to limit potential damage we have installed temporary dams and stop planks at a number of locations throughout the affected area including at Bridges 174 (Croxton Aqueduct), 181, Bartington Wharf and Bridge 213. The Flood gates at Marbury and Wincham have been closed and locked shut too.
Our engineering teams have been surveying the damage today and can already see that the repair at Croxton Flash is going to take a number of weeks to complete before the canal there can be reopened and at Dutton Hollow longer still.
In the short term our goal is to reduce the lengths of canal that are under stop planks and secure the water supply to the whole length of the canal that is affected so that reliable access to the services at Anderton can be established. We also want to re-float the 9 boats that are currently dry in the section near Dutton Hollow. We believe that that the access to Anderton Services and water supply can be achieved within the next week but is dependent on our completion of engineering surveys of the rest of the length as well as successfully reinforcing some of the measures that we have had to put in place. In the meantime navigation opportunities between Croxton and Preston Brook will be very limited and we would ask customers to remain at visitor moorings in the short term.
We want to hear from anyone on the track who is affected by these measures and has concerns. We would ask you to contact our Red Bull offices and ensure that we have your contact details so that we understand your difficulties either at enquiries.manchesterpennine@canalrivertrust.org.uk, or by phone on 01782 785 703.
These events are immensely disappointing. We will be working as hard as we can to restore the elements of navigation that we are able to as quickly as possible and ask customers to be bear with us while we make these difficult repairs.