This section is maintained in water by the Canal & River Trust as it feeds the Staffs and Worcester Canal from Gailey Reservoir, but is blocked by five road crossings.
The Junction Bridge and the bottom of the two Calf Heath locks are still in use and allow access to the marina in the pound above. The upper lock survives, but a shelf has been cut out of one side to form a dry dock for the boatyard. The channel above is in water although choked with reeds and the remains of abandoned boats.
The next bridge was Dog Bridge which was demolished when the M6 was built. Shortly beyond Dog Bridge the M6 Motorway crosses the canal on an embankment.
There are several alternatives at this point. If the road can be elevated Dog Bridge could be replaced. If not, then the canal would need to be lowered by a new half lock just before the M6 and the channel lowered back as far as Calf Heath top lock, which would lose some of its fall.
The M6 embankment is high enough for the canal to tunnel underneath at its existing level. An alternative is that the canal could be realigned and share the existing road bridge under the M6. This would save the cost of a new tunnel but would present other challenges of accommodating both the road and the canal, and a sharp turn in and out of the bridge.
Oak Lane (Scrawper’s End) Bridge exists but the arch has been replaced with a flat deck. The road will need to be raised by about a metre to accommodate navigation. The next bridge at Saredon Mill has already been restored by the trust.
The bridge beyond, Four Crosses, has also had its deck lowered which will also require raising to allow navigation. The next bridge, Catch Bridge, was heavily affected by subsidence and was a reason for the abandonment of the branch in the fifties. It has been replaced by a causeway and will require a new bridge.
The canal continues in water to the East of the bridge until Meadow Lock.
The lock itself survives, although showing considerable signs of subsidence. At the end of its working life it regularly overflowed making its operation very tricky. Above the lock there is a trickle of water in the channel. This length is crossed by another accommodation bridge, no 8, which has also been restored by the trust.
This first section of the canal is in good condition, save for the lowered crossings.