ENGINEERS will use 1,400 tonnes of rock to rebuild a canal embankment after it partially collapsed during heavy rain earlier this year.
A stretch of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal’s footpath between Stalybridge and Mossley will close for the duration of the work, which the Canal and River Trust charity expects to last until October.
As the landslip is in a remote part of the canal, contractors needed to create and upgrade a kilometre of access tracks to the site, which sits above the River Tame and is bookended by Scout Tunnel and Black Rock Bridge.
The charity predicts the work to move 700 two-tonne bags of interlocking rocks to stabilise the embankment will last until mid-August, while the removal of temporary access roads, tree planting and restoration of the area around the canal will complete in October.
Stuart Sutherland, senior project manager at the Canal and River Trust said: “We’re pleased to get the repair works underway and we’re aiming to have them completed by the middle of August at the latest.
“There are some unique challenges involved in a repair of this scale and remote location, but we have developed robust plans to complete this work as quickly and safely as possible.
“We know how important the Huddersfield Narrow Canal is to boaters and local people, and we would like to thank everyone for their patience and support whilst this work is being carried out to repair the embankment and we’ll keep people updated on our progress.”
The Huddersfield Narrow Canal is a trans-Pennine waterway, with boats taking 20 miles to navigate from Whitelands Basin in Ashton-under-Lyne to Huddersfield.
Along the way boaters must pass through the Standedge Tunnel, which is both the longest and deepest canal tunnel in the UK and marks the highest point on the country’s entire canal network.
