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These photos show the installation of lock gates and the completed lock between Mann Island and Canning Dock. They are shown here courtesy of British Waterways and Icarus.
One of the gates for the new lock between the Liverpool Canal Link and Canning Dock is lifted into place in August 2008. (Photo: BW)
Work on the construction of the new Liverpool Canal Link is reaching its final stages.
In August the new lock between the Canal Link and Canning Dock was completed at Mann Island with the installation of lock gates.
The gates were 5 metres (16 feet) high and weighed 4 tonnes. They were built a few miles away by Twinbridge of Burscough before being takento British Waterways' workshop at Stanley Ferry to have the paddle sluices and operating gear fitted.
Mann Island, looking along the new canal channel from the new Museum of Liverpool towards the new lock into Canning Dock. (Photo: Icarus)
The new lock at Mann Island, with Canning Dock in the background. (Photo: Icarus)
In addition to the normal pair of gates at each end, there is a third pair of gates at the Canning Dock end, facing the other way, to act as a flood lock on the occasions when the water level in Canning Dock is higher than that in the Canal Link.
The section of new canal channel across the Pier Head area is now almost complete. Another lock is currently under construction at the northern end of this channel where it connects with Prince's Dock.
The construction of the remainder of the Link should be complete by December. After that, there will be a period of testing and commissioning before the Link opens to boats in Spring 2009.
Photos of the construction along the whole line of the Canal Link can be seen here.
[It is hoped to have a new set of photos on this site showing progress along the whole route in the next few weeks.]
