Hello all
I visited the Minworth site yesterday (Tuesday) on the advice of the of the Historic Narrow Boat Club (Where our boats can go, so can yours!) Navigations Officer who is also a member of the CRT Navigations Advisory Group (NAG) who said I should find CRT engineer Jane Marriott on site and I should talk to her. Jane was there to 'sort it out'. Her regular job is 'Programme Manager, Asset Improvement', so she'll never be stuck for anything to do then!
So I did and learnt a lot. She is very approachable, happy to share all her information and I think she listens.
The works here were overseen centrally by CRT not the local West Midlands Waterways Office, who have had the sticky end of the stick in sending out the Notices, email or otherwise, so some, including me, thought it was down to them. It isn't.
Kier are the contractors and as you will see it's not down to them either.
As I understand it the issues were to make a permanent repair to the troublesome embankment against the A38 trunk road into Birmingham, and to deal with multiple canal bed leakages just downstream of there.
The contractors did put a haul road down the drained canal as the first postings on this topic confirm with really good photographs..
And at the end of works Kier advised CRT that it must come out before rewatering.
However here lies the problem.
CRT had considered that the silt here was not of a hazardous status. It was. Surprise? And therefore the haul road material added was now also of a hazardous status,it having been added to the silt.
The cost of removal of the hazardous material was huge and therefore, against the advice of the contractors Kier, and not wishing to add to the already large cost of the contract, CRT decided to rewater with all the stone left in, the timber having been removed.
As you all know, boats will push through silt, even hazardous silt (!) but stone is different. They get stuck.
Jane Marriott tells me that they now know this was a great mistake from which they have now learnt. And can't apologise enough.
Whilst I was there Kier had a large machine back in the canal bed and were removing the now 'hazardous' stone, which will be very expensive to dispose of.
All round the very best of intentions but a great cock up nevertheless.
I must add that the site is embanked, and for a part on both sides of the navigation. This is the reason the silt was replaced against the wash walls to add stability as would be expected. A breach onto the A38 wouldn't just inconvenience us boaters! Besides, who wants to moor here? The depth at the Services further up is another issue but not unrelated.
In short, CRT must consider all silt around the BCN, and probably many other former heavily industrialised areas, to be 'hazardous' and enjoy the bonus if it's found not to be. And make their original assessments based on this.
Kier the contractors appear not to be at fault at all.
Having had the passage out of Birmingham on the Birmingham & Fazeley denied to me 10 days ago, I am returning this way in the next few weeks. Ummmm. We shall see.
James