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Underground lock gates brought up to date

2nd Dec 2003

British Waterways is employing the next-generation of lifting gear in city centre Manchester to replace some of the oldest lock gates on the inland waterway network.

In the 1960s, a building was built over the newly refurbished canal, covering lock 85 at Piccadilly Locks on the Rochdale Canal.

There is just eight feet clearance, which is a problem for waterway engineers as conventional cranes are unable to access the canal.

This problem has been overcome, however, with a micro-machine, which will lift the gates off the front of a barge using the lock’s coping stones as support before raising the four-ton structures into position below.

The gantry was designed for work in confined spaces aboard ships and can lift up to five tons in weight. This is the first time British Waterways has used this type of equipment on the canals.

British Waterways opened the last part of the Rochdale Canal, between Manchester and Littleborough, in July 2002, in partnership with the councils of Manchester, Oldham and Rochdale.

This equipment has been sited in conjunction with a floating barge, thus reducing the canal's closure time as the water below the locks does not need to be drained before work is carried out.

The system has proved so effective British Waterways is going to use the equipment in the city at locks 87,90 & 91 to reduce local disruption and cost.

Last updated: 22/10/2008