Bridge 62 West Mills Swingbridge

Please note that the last day the bridge will be operated is the 24th January. The bridge will be closed to all craft from the 25th January to the 4th March inclusive for planned winter maintenance.  More information can be
found here: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notice/3025/bridge-62-west-mills-swingbrdge

West Mills Swing bridge will be closed to boating traffic on the 25th, 26th & 27th December 2015 and on 1st January 2016.

If there are no boats waiting at midday Trust staff will leave and return the next day.  

Thanks for your patience during the repairs, and if you have any questions please contact us at

Thanks for your patience during the repairs, and if you have any questions please contact us at

[email protected]

We continue to operate the bridge at West Mills on a daily basis but the amount of boats looking to pass has significantly reduced. 

With this in mind we politely request that any boats wishing to navigate through the bridge arrive at the bridge at midday. 

If there are no boats waiting at midday Trust staff will leave and return the next day. 

We will continue this on a daily basis to allow any boats through including weekends, until further notice. 

Thanks for your patience during the repairs, and if you have any questions please contact us at [email protected]

 Following a successful bridge swing today, we will operate the bridge on a daily basis to allow any boats through between midday and 1pm, including weekends, until further notice.  Thanks for your patience during the repairs, and if you have any questions please contact us at [email protected]

Contractors will be on site on Tuesday 3 November and Wednesday 4 November installing a temporary fix in order for the bridge to be operated manually and allow boats through. 

We will operate the bridge from Wednesday 4th November on a daily basis between midday and 1pm, including weekends until further notice. 

We are aiming for the bridge to be swung for the first time at around 2pm on Wednesday and will update as work progresses throughout the two days

Contractors will be on site on Tuesday 3 November and Wednesday 4 November installing a temporary fix in order for the bridge to be operated manually and allow boats through. 

We will operate the bridge from Wednesday on a daily basis between midday and 1pm, including weekends until further notice. 

We are aiming for the bridge to be swung for the first time at around 2pm on Wednesday and will update as work progresses throughout the two days

We’re continuing to work on the part that’s broken, and we’re pleased to say that the bridge will reopen on a limited basis to boating traffic on the 9th of November.  As the repairs will be ongoing, Trust staff will need to be onsite to open and close the bridge manually for boaters looking to pass through.  We’re finalising details of how this will work, and will publish an update next week.

 In order to fix the bridge, we’ve had to order parts from abroad, so getting the bridge fully operational is likely to take some time.  We’re sorry for any inconvenience caused while the bridge is out of action, and again would like to thank everyone for their patience so far.

After a successful operation on Monday to lift the bridge and remove the broken part, it’s looking like we’ll be able to reopen the bridge to boating traffic by early November, with the exact date to be confirmed next week.  Apologies again for any inconvenience caused, and thanks to all those affected for their patience.

Monday 12th October 2015 at 8 am Kier will set up crane, this will take approximately 3 hours, the bridge will be lifted off the canal and placed on the road.

The bridge will be off for a minimum of 2 hours we will ensure all the boats can pass that are waiting.

Kier will ensure that all craft looking to pass will be able to do so.

The estimated time for repairs is 1-2 weeks pending findings. CRT have instructed contractors to work continuously on the repair.

CRT staff and volunteers will be on site to assist craft through the bridge and lock 85 (Newbury town) during the period of the re-opening.

Due to location of the  the under ground services and temporary works required to facilitate the crane. A provisonal date advised by Kier for the lifting of the bridge is Monday 12th October.

Following the Engineers assessment today we have engaged a major contratcor Kier to undertake the repair works associated with the bridge.

Kier have given a provisional date of Friday 9th October to lift the bridge in order to allow boats to navigate.They continue to assess the situation and we will update accordingly.

Following the Engineers assessment today we have engaged a major contratcor Kier to undertake the repair works associated with the bridge.

Kier have given a provisional date of Friday 9th October to lift the bridge in order to allow boats to navigate.They continue to assess the situation and we will update accordingly.

Engineers have been onsite, and further investigations of the bridge have shown that the hydraulic failure is significant, and an attempt to repair the bridge temporarily has failed. At this point, it’s likely that it will require extensive works before being able to reopen.

We apologise for the inconvenience caused, and will be working to ensure the problem is rectified as soon as possible.

In the meantime, we will be talking to those affected and finding out what we can do to help until the problem is fixed.  If you need to get in contact with us, please call 01380 737907 The enforcement team have been advised of the stoppage and will take this into consideration when contacting boaters impacted, who may require a longer stay than usual on some visitor moorings. 

We’ll update everyone as soon as new information becomes available. 

Due to a hydraulic failure West Mills Swingbridge No 62 is closed to boat traffic until further notice.

An update will be issued at 10am on 1st October.

We understand that this closure may disrupt your schedule.  We are taking every step to fix the problem as soon as possible and we will keep you updated of our progress.