Two New Lift Bridges Opened on the Wey & Arun Canal

Published on: 14 Nov, 2023
Updated on: 15 Nov, 2023

A major restoration achievement was celebrated when the Wey & Arun Canal Trust officially opened its first two lift bridges at Birtley, near Bramley.

The trust reports this completes the restoration of a 700-metre section of canal that means the causeways that blocked the route of the canal have been removed.

Picture from the official opening of the lift bridges on the Wey & Arun Canal on October 28.

At the official opening on Saturday, October 28, attended 150 members and guests, Deputy Lieutenant of Surrey Mary Creswell paid tribute to the tremendous amount of work carried out by volunteers on the project.

The two bridges are the biggest piece of the trust’s Birtley section restoration programme.

In 2018 this stretch of the canal was severely overgrown, inaccessible to the public and blocked by two causeways.

The first task was to open a circular walk taking the path along the new section of canal and back down the Downs Link path.

The trust adds this new walking route has been enormously appreciated by local residents and highlights the benefits of a restored canal.

One of the two new lift bridges on the Way & Arun Canal.

The distance between the two bridges is about 600m and the two bridges have the same dimensions – 3.0m wide with a clear span of 4.5m.

The steel decks weigh 3.5 tonnes with 1.5 tonnes of lifting frames and 4 tonnes of concrete counterweights.

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