SHROPSHIRE Union Canal Volunteers have continued the fortnightly programme of restoration on the Montgomery Canal near Crickheath.
Terrific progress was made over three days as another 40m of waterproof lining was put down and covered with building blocks.
There is now 140m completed, leaving a further 190m to finish by Christmas in order that this stretch of canal can be filled with water and retention tested for a grand opening in 2023.
It is anticipated that by the end of August all lining will be finished. This will enable all of the energy to be directed to towpath work and other remedial tasks.
When a length of channel is lined with a ‘sandwich’ of four layers of waterproofing materials, it is then ‘paved’ with building blocks to weight these layers down. These layers are put down as huge overlapping blankets which are 6m wide and stretch from the towpath, down and across, to the top side of the offside bank.
Other tasks involved installing a culvert under the channel near Crickheath and completing a 30m piece of channel shaping in the middle of the canal undergoing restoration.
A stretch of embankment was covered in riprap. This process involves covering an area of canal bank above the waterline with soil and boulders to break up any waves created by boats, to reduce erosion and also promote grass and vegetation growth.
The team is always seeking new volunteers to work near Crickheath.
Anyone interested can go and introduce themselves along the towpath or look for details on the Shropshire Union website at https://shropshireunion.org.uk/
Further on down the canal toward Llanymynech, the Restore Group is gearing up for the reconstruction of Schoolhouse Bridge which is, hopefully, due to begin in the near future.
Beyond this in Powys, Government funding is in place for restoration from Llanymynech to Arddleen, which hopefully will begin later this year.
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