Repair work on 180-year-old Worcester lock 'progressing well'
The Canal & River Trust (CRT) has been busy in the city carrying out the refurbishments on gates at the Diglis Small Lock
A project to refurbish a structure on the River Severn in Worcester dating back to the 19th century is moving closer to completion.
The Canal & River Trust (CRT) has been carrying out repairs on the Diglis Small Lock having raised £355,000 for the improvements.
Constructed back in 1844, the lock sits alongside the bigger Diglis Lock, with the two being the only paired locks across what is the UK's longest river.
Prior to the scheme starting, the section had to be drained of water to create the space for it all to take place and is part of the charity's focus on maintaining and improving such structures.
Area construction manager for the trust, Mark Abraham, said quite a bit of work has gone into it all, estimating they've used around 8-900 feet of timber to renew the planks on them.
"We started in June and it’s going really well," he said.
"The weather's helped, but it also hasn't helped, imagine trying to work in this heat and doing all the works as we have to wear all the full PPE.
"It’s essential that we keep these assets together up and running because in the future in our canals and our rivers, the biggest quantity is going to be water.
"We know that places are struggling at the moment for water but we have got the infrastructure to move water around the country, so we've got to make sure those assets stay in place."
He added the scaffolding around it should soon be on the move and they'd be entering the tidying up phase following that.
The project is also part of a wider programme by the trust to keep the river easy to use for boaters travelling between Stourport and Gloucester where the river connects to the docks through Gloucester Lock.