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Publication Date: 07 October 2008
Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal
On 19th September, the completion of the first restored section of the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal at Middlewood, Salford, was celebrated. The opening of this section of waterway is considered to be the most challenging phase in the restoration of the whole 15.2-mile long canal, which was once important to the transportation of coal and cotton in the Manchester area during the Industrial Revolution. This part of the canal was filled in during the 1960s, but now the canal through Middlewood represents the focal point for £600 million of urban regeneration that will comprise of a mixed use development.
One of the last major waterways in Greater Manchester to be restored, restoration works have included the creation of a tunnel under the Salford Inner relief road which then extends under the Manchester/Wigan Rail Viaduct. This new tunnel has been named the Margaret Fletcher Tunnel, dedicated to the late and much respected former chairman of the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal Society and former IWA trustee.
Engineering works undertaken during the restoration also included: the excavation of 80,000 tonnes of rubble and material; the widening of East Ordsall Lane road bridge; the creation of two small circular basins; the restoration of the original Lock 3 and the construction of a new seven-metre deep lock which will be the third deepest lock within British Waterways’ 2,200-mile network. Although the first section to be reopened is just 437 metres long, its reconnects the canal to the rest of the UK’s inland waterway network via the river Irwell and opens up potential for the restoration of the canal to its terminuses at both Bolton and Bury.
The £5.9 million project, delivered by contractors Volker Stevin and led by British Waterways was funded by Northwest European Regional Development Fund (through Manchester Enterprises), Salford City Council, North West Regional Development Agency (NWDA) and Valley & Vale Properties Ltd. Amongst those present at the re-opening was Derek Cochrane, former BW regeneration director who was responsible for putting the redevelopment package together. The next stage in restoring the wider Manchester, Bolton & Bury Canal could be achieved within five to ten years subject to funding.
