Edgbaston Tunnel, Worcester & Birmingham Canal

We are very pleased to confirm the work at Edgbaston Tunnel will be completed on 25th May and the newly widened towpath will be open for use from 5pm that day.  Navigation restrictions will also be lifted.

We have realised an administrative mistake was made on the last website update which stated the end date would be Sunday 20th May, instead of the correct date of Friday 25th May.  The correct date was displayed on our on-site signage.  We do apologise for this error and for any confusion it may have caused to our customers.

We are pleased to confirm that the galvanised steelwork required to widen the towpath through Edgbaston Tunnel will be delivered to site on Monday 19th March and work will re-commence within the tunnel.   

The navigation will be kept open throughout, although there will be some short delays to ensure the safety of our workforce.   Please take care whilst navigating through the tunnel and follow any guidance and instructions from our contractors. 

The towpath will remain closed throughout the works and diversion signs should be followed.

 We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience that has been caused by the delays to these works.

There have been some late changes in order to improve the final design of the steelwork required for the widening of the tunnel towpath.  Unfortunately these changes have resulted in a delay of two weeks in the delivery of the fabricated steels. 

This has given us an opportunity to keep the navigation open to boat traffic during  this period.  Please be aware, however, the towpath through the tunnel remains closed and diversion signs should be followed.

We do sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused by this unexpected delay.  We will issue a further update as soon as we have more information.

The late signing of the funding agreement for the towpath widening works has had a knock-on effect on the commercial agreement with the contractor and their arrangements for access and compound provisions.

This now means that the stoppage start date will be Monday 22nd January.  At present, we are not extending the stoppage but will look at accelerating the works where possible. 

The navigation will reopen during 1st to 4th February as per the original programme.  Please be aware the towpath will not be available and a diversion will be in place.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Please note that the start date of this project will be delayed by approximately 1 week due to final approval being required from Birmingham City Council following receipt of the designs this week.

As soon as the approval is granted the notice will be updated and pedestrian diversion routes issued on site.

Towpath widening works through the tunnel.

These works are now confirmed.  

The full duration of the proposed closure is required but navigation windows will be incorporated into the project.      

The tunnel will be opened over the weekend of 20th/21st January and from 1st to 4th February 2018.    Dates for an additional navigation window will be confirmed later.

A towpath diversion will be in place.