From bridges to culverts – is there nothing we can’t do?
Following the completion of the new bridge, we turned our efforts to constructing a new culvert for the Gloucester Charities Trust. This is to be in return for transferring a segment of land to the Canal Trust at the rear of Malswick House, which we will need to continue the canal towards Newent.
Engineering drawings were produced by Thomas Ashworth of Tony Gee & Partners. The culvert was to be constructed using 3 X 1.2 metre concrete pipes kindly donated by Complete Utilities Ltd. The pipes were collected from Newent and were expertly placed into the ditch using a 13T digger provided by the Keyway Group.
We welcomed back Mike Clarke the digger driver who helped us previously constructing the new bridge. Crushed concrete was dropped either side of the pipes to secure them into position against the banks of the ditch.
Our volunteers then started building up the headwalls using hessian bags filled with a dry concrete mix. Two further ZOT loads of crushed concrete were delivered to site.
Andrew Eastabrook, the Farm Manager for Hartpury College, kindly assisted in transferring the material down to the culvert site providing a loader and tractor and trailer. Thanks go to Daniel and Oscar who both provided sterling support.
The crushed concrete was spread across the culvert using our own excavator to ensure that we had the designed depth of cover across the pipes.
A top dressing of recycled railway ballast was transferred from the west woodland to complete the bed of the culvert.
The Malswick Project is far from finished – we still have the canal itself to excavate and reinstate.
To achieve this, we need more funding and more volunteers. This is a great opportuntiy for you to get involved and “Make a Difference”
Please take a few moments to look at our Funding and Volunteering webpages.
Thank you.
