After a section of the canal bank fell into the canal near Skipton, repair work needed to be promptly carried out so this prominent waterway could re-open to the general public.
An existing leak was made worse by heavy rainfall which caused a 15-metre section of the canal bank to slip into the channel and required special attention. Construction company Kier and civil engineering firm JJF were contracted to undertake damage repair. However, in order to clear the water-bound obstruction, Kier and JJF required the specialist services of The Rothen Group (TRG), a UK waterway civil engineering and maintenance business.
It was vital any work carried out be of the highest quality in order to prevent incidents such as these occurring again.
Ian Rothen, founder of TRG, comments: “It was important to restore the passageway as efficiently and quickly as possible so traffic could pass through once again. In order to do this, we needed to first clear the fallen canal bank – only then could we begin repair work on the bankside.
“With that in mind, we used one of our marine ready excavators with a long reach arm and clamshell. This cleared the way for a new stone foundation to be put in place ahead of construction of the new bank. This was made up of gabion baskets stacked at a slight angle which were then filled and tied together, creating a solid bank.”
The experienced TRG team ensured the gabion baskets were put in place quickly and effectively, creating a form of erosion control and bank protection that also provided shelter for fish and invertebrates below the water. It also further supports a range of insects, animals and plants above the water, increasing biodiversity in the canal’s rural setting.
Darren Hampshire, project manager at Kier, comments: “The challenging nature of the site required specialist equipment, so TRG’s ability to source and mobilise specially-designed units for the project was key. The canal work needed to be carried out quickly so traffic could once again pass through the site. We were impressed by TRG’s ability to efficiently assess the situation and complete the task to such a high standard.”
Liam Fitzpatrick, company director at JJF, added: “Thanks to the professionalism and skill of TRG team who worked tirelessly on this project, the canal was opened earlier than anticipated. This meant that disruption to those who use this canal near Skipton was kept to a minimum while remedial work was carried out.”
