The weather seems to have had much more of an impact on us this winter. First the early snow in December, which covered and subsequently froze the ground and then the heavy rain towards the end of the month created much mud and further hampered progress over the more recent weeks. But progress has nonetheless been made on both of our current construction worksites.
Darnford Moors Ecology Park
What 3 Words Location https://w3w.co/workroom.vampire.cemented
The Trust’s volunteers have now carried out remedial works to (Phase 1) the section beyond the lift bridge, towards Cappers Lane. The rear of the sheet piles was exposed in order that sealing tape could be applied across the interlocking clutch seam. Tape was used to prevent or reduce water leakage through the clutch. Then, intermediate additional anchor piles and longer 3 metre tie rods, tied back to the existing waling beam, provide additional support to the sheet piling – before the area was backfilled up to towpath level with soil and compacted. On the opposite bank the batter profile has been created.
When finally in water the banking will create easy access to the water – therefore creating habitat, for semi-aquatic species and allow aquatic plants and invertebrates to survive on the margins between land and water.
This section is now ready to hand over to ground works contractors who will create an impermeable geomembrane across the canal base and up the batter side.
Around 800 cubic metres of soil has been used to create the batter bank on the golf course side with probably another 250 cubic metres to top up the towpath level on the opposite side. It’s all looking good now though.
Most of the aforementioned soil has been relocated from around the north wall of the now redundant lock 29. There is a fair bit of original brickwork now exposed and you can see some of the many thousands of bricks that go into creating a traditional lock chamber. Some of the original and previously hidden design detail also becomes visible – like the ground paddle chamber, water channelling and lock wall reinforcing. Unfortunately, some of the lock wall is missing.
This area will eventually feature a nature trail, passing to the side of the old lock remains.
What 3 Words Location https://w3w.co/filer.remaining.fatherly
Phase 2 Remedial Work
Latterly we have now moved onto Phase 2, which is the section from the lift bridge heading back to Darnford Lane (Phase 2 ends roughly where the sheet piling finishes). Here we are doing more of the same remedial works – sealing the interlocking clutch seam and introducing additional and longer tie rods.
Both the pond and the aforementioned batter bank ‘soften’ the impact of the surrounding galvanised sheet piling – which can tend to make access to, and egress from the water, difficult for amphibians such as frogs, ducks and swans. The ecological side of our works on this site starts to take shape.
Further habitat has been created as the team have developed a pond adjacent to the brook. It’s looking a bit ‘raw’ at the moment but the coming spring will quickly ‘green everything up’.
Path adjacent to old Lock 29 created with ‘dead-hedging’ . All explained in the video!
Tamworth Road Narrows
At Tamworth Road Narrows (Old Lock 24) on a rapidly reducing (space) restricted work site we have tended to construct the canal walls and then to fill the canal channel back in again temporarily in order to create access and a safe working environment in order that the adjacent towpath works can progress.
The added benefit of filling the canal back in over the previous summer (apart from not needing scaffolding or edge protection for the subsequent works) has been that there has been no thermal expansion cracking of the newly constructed canal walls over the summer. As we re-expose the walls they are near perfect and have no visible cracking.
We start to move westerly towards Cricket Lane and we can now see the full extent of the construction works over the last year. The main issue that we now have on this site is that we literally have no place to store the excavated spoil and in order to progress westerly with the concrete base of the canal – we are carrying out sub-optimal site practices like blocking our internal haul road with the excavated spoil heap. This in turn creates further issues when we try to traverse the site with even our smallest dumper or when we need to access sand or bricks on the other side of the spoil heap.
I estimate that there is somewhere in the order of 2,000 cubic metres of spoil to remove before we reach Cricket Lane. If we are to progress this site, we really need to export some material from this site and soon.
Written by Mike Babb
LHCRT Volunteer
January 2023
Fosseway
At Fosseway, Paul has been levelling the area round the basin to leave a working recreation area. It will soon be ready for grass seed, which will leave an easily manageable area.
Paul is extremely conscientious about “levelling up”! All hard graft and note the spirit level. There’s no “that’s about right” where Paul is concerned. Grass seed coming soon.
📷 photo by Chris Bull. Jan 7th 2023