![]() The canal itself was rescued from dereliction and reopened in 1974. British Waterways proposed demolishing the structure and replacing it with a pipeline, but additional funding was found from the local authority to rescue the aqueduct, and in 1966 the restored bridge was declared a Listed Building, Grade I. Use of the canal had declined during the 19th century, with Marple Railway Viaduct being built alongside the aqueduct in 1863.ĭecline eventually lead to ruin, with one spandrel wall of the aqueduct partially collapsing in January 1962. Tie bars were inserted in the central span in 1860 by engineer Charles Sacre. They add visual interest to the bridge but I don't think they lighten its appearance: compare Rennie's Lune Aqueduct, completed in 1796 while the Marple structure was being built, which scarcely looks much heavier. These were presumably intended to reduce weight, and were not a new idea: William Edwards had used them for his fourth and final bridge in Pontypridd in 1756 John Smeaton included them on Coldstream Bridge in 1767, albeit filled with loose stone. The aqueduct's most distinctive visual feature is the series of circular openings in the spandrel walls of all three spans. It is claimed to be the tallest masonry aqueduct in the United Kingdom, and over the six years of construction, seven construction workers died. The enterprise was largely promoted by industrialist Samuel Oldknow, and the engineers were Benjamin Outram and Thomas Brown, and William Broadhead, Bethel Furness and William Anderson were appointed as the contractors. It must have been a tremendous endeavour, considering the scale of the stone blocks that make up the finished structure. Immediately south of the locks, the Lower canal crosses the valley of the River Goyt, and between 17 a huge aqueduct was built here. The Peak Forest Canal connected mines at Dove Holes to Manchester, with two level stretches of water (the Upper and Lower Peak Forest Canals) separated by a 64m tall flight of locks at Marple. So far as was possible, canals needed to be level to be economically viable. ![]() The Peak Forest Canal, authorised by an Act of Parliament in 1794, was part of that explosion of canal-building. the Bridgewater Canal opened in 1761), but canal mania only really took off in the century's final decade. ![]() Some canals had been constructed earlier (e.g. It's sometimes difficult to imagine how the pre-industrialised landscape would have looked near the end of the 18th century. ![]() But a Missoulian article has recently been published that seems to shed a little more light on the reasons behind the precautions.Yes, yes, I know, it's not really in Manchester. It does feel like some important details were left out of the press release when it was released. The Bridge was to meet the needs and objectives and community desires to maintain and ideally improve connectivity, safety, accessibility, and capacity. Guess they need to build better support structures for it. It makes it seem like the final product bridge can’t accommodate large vehicles when really I think they’re trying to say it’s during the construction phase…? Seems likes it was doomed from the start. Not sure I'd want to use this bridge at all. The article doesn’t give much info but my guess is they will address the issue and once construction is complete, large trucks will be able to use the bridge again. They must have discovered (or caused) structural weakening. Sounds like this is only a temporary construction detour for large vehicles. Here's a few thoughts that have been shared: So no word, but some comments from the NBC MONTANA Facebook post has commenters guessing that it has to be a temporary issue. No official reason for the adjustment was given in the press release. Oversized southbound traffic will be rerouted to Main Street and then to Orange Street." That includes Mountain Line buses.Ī press release from MTD says: " Northbound traffic exceeding ten tons will be rerouted to Sixth Street and across Madison Street. Everything is normal for typical vehicle loads and pedestrians but any load over 10 tons is currently being rerouted from the bridge. For comparison, an article from NBC MONTANA says a school buss full of kids weights about 17 tons - and a comment from a post on the NBC MONTANA Facebook page says a firetruck weights about 15 tons. The latest bit of bridge banter is that the Montana Department of Transportation just put a 10-ton weight limit into effect.
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