Announced 18/09/2018
A few trees down, canal and towpath navigable
The last update referred to the aftermath of the cable installation. This is now a distant memory. The surface of the towpath has settled into a fairly stable state, it has to be said that it is in several places not as good for walking or cycling as it was before the installation, but for the most part tolerable. In very wet conditions it still becomes waterlogged and horrible.
Over the summer and autumn of 2018 there have been a few trees or parts of trees come down on both banks. One or two have significantly blocked the waterway for a short while, but at the time of writing I have cycled from Middle Green to the basin in the last couple of weeks and nothing is blocking the waterway or towpath completely at the western end.
If anything else does come down in the high winds forcast for the next few days it will probably be reported on Facebook before I see it.
Announced 12/04/2017
Trench digging complete, cable going into ducts
Latest update in brief: The excavators have finished their work on the towpath and the floating pontoons have been removed. Cables are being threaded into the conduit from access hatches. I have ridden the towpath from Trenches Bridge to Slough Basin over the last couple of days, there are no closures of the towpath and the floating walkways have been removed. Today cable was being installed from an access hatch near Middle Green Road bridge, involving a large drum of cable at the edge of the towpath. A barge was moving supplies to the installation team.
Further information: Users of the towpath will find it clear enough to walk or ride, and the good weather has dried out the ground making it hard. I cannot be certain how slippery it will become when there is heavy rain. The worst areas of soft mud appear to have been filled with gravel or concrete which has left a hard dry surface. The towpath is uneven and bumpy in places to ride, and approaching the basin and going onto the coarse gravel my (small wheeled) bike was difficult to control.
Boats coming down the arm should find little hinderance. There are no floating pontoons to restrict the width or block the winding holes. During the cable installation phase boats may encounter wide supply barges transporting materials to the team on the towpath or tied against the towpath bank.
Announced 22/02/2017
JSM report progress ahead of schedule
Latest update in brief: The winding hole at Slough Basin is now free of pontoons and can be used as normal. As of lunchtime today one trenching party is working just east of Middle Green Road bridge with a long section of pontoon alongside the towpath. Another work party was putting the duct under Wexham Road Bridge this morning involving a short section of pontoon. In both cases towpath users and boats alike were able to get past. I'm told a second trenching party is working eastwards and is curently somewhere near the M25 bridge.
Further information: JSM told me today that their work is slightly ahead of schedule, and they now expect to complete all the trenching and bridge work before the end of March. The total length of the cabling installation was surveyed at 7332m of which 2746m is currently complete. The actual drawing of cables within the ducts will happen when all the ducting is complete and be far less disruptive to other canal users then installing the conduit.
The workers have been slightly surprised at the soft and slippery conditions they have encountered, and additional stone chippings have been added when re-covering the path by the eastern work party. They tell me there are liasing closely with the CRT as work progresses to try and keep all canal users happy. As good progress has been sustained only two trenching parties are working on the Slough Arm, one just east of Middle Green road bridge and the other now near the M25 bridge. I'm told the east team is expected to finish their run to the junction first and then may relocate to the west to help the other team.
Announced 11/02/2017
Locations of towpath disruption should relocate quite rapidly
Latest update in brief: The pontoon at Slough Basin was still across the winding hole on Friday morning 10/2. The contractors estimated that the first relocation away from the basin winding hole would take place on the afternoon of Saturday 11/2, after which the winding hole should remain unobstructed
Further information: Since the previous posting, the contractors doing the installation have been in touch and established a path of communication. They have also given some explanation of what they are doing and how they expect the work to proceed.
The first phase of installation is within the long sections of towpath between bridges. This began last week, and involves closing sections of towpath while the digging and recovering is done, and this is why there are several sections of floating pontoon walkway, to provide a bypass around the area of work for walkers and cyclists. The installation team will work all the hours of daylight, and expect to achive most of 100M of towpath each day once they establish their routine. The bypass walkway is approximately this length, so it would be expected to relocate every couple of days as the work moves along. Three teams will work along the length of the Slough Arm simultaneously, and this phase is expected to take about three weeks.
A later phase of work will do the installations under bridges, where a different excavation or enclosing method will be needed. These will involve short term point closures under bridges, possibly bypassed by shorter lengths of pontoon walkway.
Only the basin winding hole is on the south side, and therefore no other winding holes should be blocked by the pontoons. However, someone has already pointed out that the presence of a pontoon on the opposite side to the winding hole may still prevent the longer boats from turning, and require that they carry on to the next winding hole. Once the basin winding hole is free of obstruction this becomes a lesser nuisance.
The Friend's Clean-up is likely to come during the second phase of work under bridges, and should only result in short sections of towpath becoming unaccessible over that weekend. It should be possible to use the road bridges as access points as normal. The contractors will give Chris an update on where they are working nearer the time.
Announced 04/02/2017
Cable installation under towpath restricts navigation
Cruisers are warned that it is currently impossible to turn at the winding hole at Slough Basin. The nearest winding hole to Slough Basin is near Middle Green Road (bridge 10).
Details are currently sketchy but we have observed pontoons arriving at Slough Basin and elsewhere along the Slough Arm. On Saturday 4th February the pontoon installation is almost ready to provide an alternative walkway for the westernmost section of the towpath approaching Slough Basin, allowing walkers and cyclists to get to Stoke Road while the towpath is temorarily closed.
We understand that the work in progress is to install a data cable along the length of the Slough Arm and some way along the main line in a southerly direction. The cable will be installed under the towpath, requiring that it be dug up briefly and restored once the cable is in place. We understand that three teams will work simultaneously along the arm, using the pontoon walkways to provide a baypass towpath as the work site moves along. The whole installation is expected to take around three weeks.
One of our members with boating experience immediately pointed out that the initial installation at the basin cuts off the winding hole which is on the towpath (southern) side, and while the pontoon towpath is in place the canal is restricted to its standard width, and it is impossible to turn a boat at the basin. This means a long reverse to the next winding hole along which is near Middle Green Road bridge (10). The other winding holes are on the north bank away from the towpath, and so we would not expect them to be similarly compromised. Nevertheless the present situation is that the basin winding hole is blocked by a temporary walkway.
Announced 18/03/2016
Trenches Footbridge further closure
There has been a notification from Crossrail that they will close the footbridge (over the railway) from 29/3/16 to 30/5/16. This links up with the footbridge over the canal and will mean there is no access from the canal to St Mary's. The nearest alternative routes off the towpath to the south are St Mary's road bridge to the west and the Waterside Drive industrial estate to the east. I assume that the actual bridge over the canal will not be closed, just the railway crossing so it will still be possible to get from the towpath onto the footpath which goes north.
Announced 09/03/2016
Towpath closure notification
We have become aware of notification that the towpath passing under Station Road Bridge near Langley railway station will be closed from 14th March to 8th April 2016. This is to enable repairs to the road bridge above.
The information we have suggests that just the towpath within about 20M of the road bridge will be closed, and towpath users will be diverted off the towpath close to the bridge, to cross the road at road deck level.
Announced 21/08/2014
Dredging completed
The CRT have announced that the dredging of the Slough Arm is now completed. If it hasn't gone already their plant will be off the arm soon leaving the way clear for cruising.
Announced 20/06/2014
Reeds footbridge is still an air-gap
Footbridge 2a carrying a footpath (Beeches Way) north/south over the canal isn't there
Following ground movement and a near collapse of one of the support pillars, emergency remedial work was required early in 2013 at the site of Reeds bridge. (The full story is told on an archive page access from the bottom of the news items page) This consisted of removing the bridge deck, and reconstructing the towpath and southern approach to the bridge. The bridge deck has, at the time of writing, not been replaced, which means that a footpath route which crossed the canal here breaks at this point.
Walkers hoping to get onto Beeches Way can still get from the towpath onto the southern section, but the north section which crossed a footbridge over the M25 and joined up with Thorney Lane to the north, is currently not accessible from the towpath. The alternative is to continue beyond the site of Reeds Bridge to bridge 3 Thorney Lane and then turn north, which is a slightly longer route, and involves walking alongside a busy road.
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Announced xx/xx/xx