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someone said something about cobbles and canal bridges on another thread, which reminded me...
Which bridge is it which is literally crumbling into the canal? and does anyone know if anything is going to be done about it before it totally collapses? (yes, I know they are listed).
We (my stoker and me) do NOT like cycling along it at present.
I think it's the one that carries Harrison Road over the canal - really difficult to push the pram over the cobbles and one of the big edging stones looks like it is about to fall into the canal. You might want to get in touch with Scottish Canals about this:
If you mean the railway one near Kingsknowe, I meant to post this last month -
"
As promised, I have an update regarding the repair you enquired about. We have now been granted approval from Historic Scotland to carry this work out and are instructing a third party to do the job.
This should be completed by early next year.
"
the harrison road one is just narrow and bendy, but basically stable. The one I mean has cobbles literally falling into the water, and is thus much narrower than it is intended to be. I should have taken a picture last time. Must be the one chdot mentions.
v. glad to hear it is to be repaired.
Likewise. Bit of a trap for the unwary night-cyclist, that bit!
I put this crumbling bridge on Fill that Hole in July and again in October.
The odd thing is that if Canals Scotland have been looking to fix it (and it sounds as if they are) they've not taken the opportunity to update Fill that Hole with the info.
Is there any point to Fill that Hole then?
That is indeed a very risky bit of the towpath. Canals Scotland normally much quicker to repair it. It has been repaired before maybe they are looking at a proper solution? Though if fixing it, I imagine the path will have to be closed for a stretch?
Signs up saying work starts on Monday.
"14th - 25th"
BUT -
route open, 'may be delays'
Traffic lights on canal??
Been getting much worse recently -
Wow. That's dramatic.
Especially in the dark!
I do it every morning and night in the dark. Conscious that if you look at something you tend to cycle into it, I've been riding under the bridge muttering 'look straight ahead, look straight ahead' to myself as I go past this entertaining obstacle.
As a temporary measure at Kingsnowe I'd suggest that if there is sufficient width to passage of boats to continue, they use a couple of their mooring pontoons connected and parallel to the towpath, set up to divert traffic around the section to be repaired.
The timber piling and boards that retain the ground behind (supporting the towpath surface) have clearly failed, and the modern solution is generally to use interlocking steel piles driven down, cut off to the required level, backfilled with stone or concrete and capped - for a 'heritage' look probably with stone blocks on a concrete screed below. For a balance between 'look' and safety I'd suggest that the new surface is laid in flush finish flat top blocks, laid with a tight bond (none of the modern standard of rubbish with open joints and brushed in weak mix) and set on a puddle clay bed.
Without the protection of the boards, the wash of every passing boat leaches out more material and accelerates collapse, potentially affecting the support for the bridge arch (lightening the loading of material surrounding the foundations), and seriously of concern to those maintaining the structure if the deterioration continues. Presumably if this is a railway bridge, Network Rail will be aware of the canal bank collapse underneath it. Is the bridge numbered as a canal or a rail bridge on any bridge plate?
flush finish flat top blocks, laid with a tight bond
This, absolutely. They would be much better rebuilding the whole section, since it's not that large an area.
It also has been repaired before in my recollection anyway so I fear it is not an easy spot to affect a decent repair or rebuild
It really should have been looked at during the millenium overhaul, as several of the bridges were attended to then.
It's been repaired a few times - when I first started using the canal for a bike in the early 80s, it was pretty ropey even back then - it was a popular spot for an impromptu swim for many folk - oddly, given the condition I often cycle the canal in, not me. Yet.
Work has started. Yesterday some bits of wood appeared and some posts seemed to have been knocked in to the canal. Not much seemed to have happened today. To my untrained eye it looks like they are probably building shuttering of some kind, perhaps in preparation for concreting. No sign of interlocking steel piles like they used at the old tramway bridge at Craiglockhart last year.
This morning there was plyboard in place, and sandbags...a little progress every day it seems.
...and this evening the shuttering had been filled in with something. It might be concrete, but it looked a bit dry for that. It was dark and cold, and keen though I am to give you daily updates on progress, I am not keen enough to stop and inspect developments in detail.
I won't do an update tomorrow as my tiger is guarding the bike, so you'll need to wait until Friday (unless @Snowy can provide regular updates tomorrow).
I bet you can't wait...
The cobbles had been fitted back in position this morning, although not yet fixed in place, and it looks like there will be a concrete section with a decking board beside the water.
More exciting news later. Maybe.
Amazing! A seamless transfer of the baton of rivetting (or more accurately concreting) updates from Greenroofer to Snowy. The efforts we are going to to keep you up to date with developments on this vital piece of infrastructure...
I'm on the train back from London with my Brompton sItting at my feet like a faithful (if knobbly) dog. Cut my time from office to station and back in half by knowing the way this time.
The tiger in the bike shed at home will be getting very hungry just in case you were thinking of paying it a visit...
The riveted masses need pictures too please!
Sorry - no pictures. It was snowing lightly as I went past this evening, and keen though I am to keep you up to date with developments, I'm still not keen enough to stop for a picture. I was then going to edit one of chdot's pictures above to give an impression of what's been done, but then saw that his licence doesn't allow modification without permission, and it was all getting too complicated.
Anyway...
Looks like they've just about finished. The setts are all back in place. The path is now substantially wider: the concrete build-out featured at the very bottom of chdot's first picture above now extends pretty much the full length of the bridge. It looked like it had a fresh layer of mortar on top of it and I was very tempted to leave a memorial footprint (but it was snowing).
Unless Snowy wants to add anything, I think that's the end of the rivetting updates.
"but then saw that his licence doesn't allow modification without permission"
I give you permission.
@chdot I was worried you'd say that...
My stoker very disappointed at lack of pictures :(. We might have to ride out ourselves to check it out.
@SRD Wouldn't want to disappoint your stoker (although I assume she'll have better things to do tomorrow given the amount of snow that's falling...), and now I've had permission, I thought I really ought to do something.
This may not be the kind of picture you had in mind, but I reckon it's a fair illustration of what's been done. I was quite pleased with the way I've repaired the setts. I think the concrete could perhaps do with a bit of work...
Well photoshopped.
Hope the reality is as good!
@greenroofer – most impressive, but mighten't have been easier/faster to have stopped in the first place? thank you - will show to stoker for inspection in morning.
Ons way that it could have been done would be to place a retaining board and then lay in sandbags filled with 'dry mix' (concrete which has yet to get water added) Drop in to water in sandbags and it sets as sandbag shaped lumps, which you can then work behind to build a sound dry structure.
The causeway through Loch Venachar was built that way, with sandbag filling races between members of the teams.
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