Dam Installed At Storm Damaged Caledonian Canal

The waterway was closed to boats after heavy rain caused a breach at Cullochy Weir.

Published 19th Mar 2015

A temporary dam has been installed in the Caledonian Canal after it was damaged by heavy rain.

The waterway was closed to boats after last week's storms caused a breach at Cullochy Weir, near Fort Augustus.

Repair works to close it are set to begin next week.

A spokesperson for Scottish Canals said: “We are pleased to be able to report that the temporary dam at Aberchalder Bridge was completed yesterday and we now have the results of the test bore holes which were carried out over the weekend.

"These confirm that we are clear to proceed with our preferred solution of closing the breach by sheet piling which we hope to commence by Monday 23rd March.

"Works to consolidate the remaining section of the weir and create access for piling plant are also well underway.

“We are also pleased to report that we are a few days ahead of the indicative schedule we gave last week but it is important to note that we still have some challenging key stages to deliver.

"However, last week we indicated our hopes of reopening the canal to navigation on 30th April and we can now confirm that we are now confident of achieving this timescale.

"If the sheet piling works are underway by the middle of next week as planned, then that will be the next appropriate opportunity to issue a further progress report with estimated timelines.”