Work has started on the excavation of the Lichfield Canal under the London Road bridge, which is the first time the canal channel has been exposed under the bridge since the 1970s.
The work is taking place to make headroom for equipment, which needs to be moved under the bridge to access lock 23. Trial holes will be dug to find the precise location of the lock and services, and then detailed plans can be drawn up for the St John’s Grange section of the canal.
After the trial-hole work has been competed, the volunteer team will start working on the canal channel from the London Road bridge towards Cricket Lane.
London Road bridge was rebuilt in 1935, to change it from a hump-backed bridge to the one we see today. Sadly, there are very few photos of the bridge when the canal was in water. These photos are kindly provided by Lost BCN images.
