In January, heavy rainfall caused a large section of the embankment on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal, between Mossley and Stalybridge, to collapse. We’ve been working hard ever since to repair the damage.
Work got underway in spring to restore the fallen embankment on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal
As revellers rang in the New Year, Scotland and the North of England were under siege from some of the worst winter weather on record, battered by unprecedented levels of rain, wind and snow. As the storms raged, a stretch of the 200-year-old embankment on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal failed, sliding into the water below.
After being alerted to the incident, our teams moved fast to secure the site, closing the canal to boaters and towpath users and carefully assessing the damage. As it turned out, the first major obstacle was the location.
The embankment was supporting the side of Lock 11 West, which sits on a narrow shelf above the River Tame – a remote area with very little access, particularly for the sort of heavy machinery required to undertake the necessary repairs. So, after shoring up the site, our first job was to establish a temporary thoroughfare.
A temporary track was installed to allow access to the remote slip site
With the consent of several third-party landowners, we installed over 1,000 metres of track, giving us easy access to the slip site. Once our engineers finalised the repair design, work to restore the embankment began in earnest.
As Stuart Sutherland, our senior project manager, explained at the time: “We’re pleased to get these repairs 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 project of this scale and remote location, but we have developed robust plans to complete this work as quickly and safely as possible.”
Rockbags were used to reinstate the damaged embankment
The mammoth task of reinstating the fallen embankment got underway in spring. To replace the material washed away in the storms, engineers used around 700 two-tonne Rockbags – flexible mesh bags filled with similar-sized angular rocks, which interlock to create a strong retaining structure.
In all, this equated to a staggering 1,400 tonnes of stone, carefully moved into position using a heavy-duty excavator. Once in place, the Rockbags were covered over with soil and vegetation.
As Stuart predicted, the work is due to be finished later this month, while ancillary repairs to the surrounding area, such as planting trees and removing the temporary track, should be completed by October.
“We know how important the Huddersfield Narrow Canal is to boaters and local people,” Stuart told us back in June, “and we’d like to thank everyone for their patience and support whilst this vital work is being carried out to reinstate the embankment.”
The Huddersfield Narrow Canal is one of the most popular and scenic waterways on our network, meandering through the breathtaking beauty of the Pennines and diving into the inky blackness of the famous Standedge Tunnel.
Thanks to the swift action and tireless efforts of our emergency response teams, engineers and volunteers, we were able to limit disruption to boaters and towpath users, and this historic waterway will soon be restored to full navigation.
Sadly, though, the incident at Lock 11 West is by no means an isolated one. With extreme weather events becoming increasingly common, our ageing 200-year-old network is more vulnerable than ever.
Despite shrinking budgets and our changing climate, with your support, we’ll continue to do all we can to protect our precious waterways and keep them alive and thriving for generations to come.
