MOTORISTS are being urged to slow down and take more care when crossing historic hump-back bridges that span the canal network.
The call comes as the Canal & River Trust completes a £100,000 project to repair the latest damage to the parapet of Barrow Bridge in Derbyshire when brickwork was knocked into the Trent & Mersey Canal below.
Regional director Linny Beaumont said: “Canal bridges, which date back hundreds of years, are such an important part of our local heritage and character so it’s heartbreaking to see them damaged in such a careless way.
“If motorists just slowed down a bit and took more care and attention then they would save themselves and us a lot of cost and aggravation and help us to keep canals alive for future generations.”
Built to allow horses and carts to cross the canal, the centuries-old Barrow Bridge is still in use today but has been hit 16 times in 20 years by modern traffic. The trust has spent the past four weeks recovering bricks and carefully rebuilding the bridge.
Due to the narrow width of the bridge the road had to be closed throughout the works but has reopened on completion of the works. Each year the trust has to fund more than £1 million of repairs to historic canal bridges across the country. In most cases these are hit-and-run accidents, leaving the charity unable to recoup its costs from drivers’ insurers, and having to divert resources away from other vital work to look after the canal network.
