The reopening of the final length of the Pennine waterways will take place soon following repair to last winter’s flood damage
With all bar two of the major problems on the Calder & Hebble, Rochdale and Aire & Calder already dealt with, it was down to repair the remaining breach and bank slip east of Todmorden before the through-route could reopen.
The breach between locks 16 and 17 was expected to be finished by August, but the damage to the canal bed had been worse than expected, which delayed the work.
The bank is now reinstated and the re-lining nearing completion, so the remaining repairs are expected to finish by the end of the month.
The nearby cutting slip was the greatest challenge, for engineering reasons involving tricky ground conditions plus issues with third-party landowners.
However, the driving of 12-metre deep steel piles to stabilise the bank is under way, allowing the Canal & River Trust to predict the entire canal will open in late September.
