THE RECONSTRUCTION OF BRICK ARCH BRIDGES ON THE CHESTERFIELD CANAL

British Waterways owns and maintains around 2400 accommodation bridges. Many of these are original masonry or brick arch bridges, which form an important part of the heritage of the canal network. It is British Waterways' policy to preserve the historic infrastructure of the canals through preventative maintenance. In the case of bridges which are, or have become, under-capacity or have suffered structural or foundation failure, strengthening or even reconstruction may over-rule this policy. However, major works of this nature will always strive to retain the original features, form and material where practicable. Osberton Bridge was a failing brick arch that had become unstable and dangerous and the arch barrel of Manor Farm Bridge had started cracking into segments. The boating envelope was restricted at both bridges and boat impacts had displaced some bricks. This paper covers how features of the existing bridges have been retained and the brick arch bridges rebuilt using traditional methods and materials to preserve the heritage of the Chesterfield canal; the design philosophy for the brick arch structures; how the habitat for a protected species was maintained; and how measures were taken to improve safety features without compromising traditional appearances. For the covering abstract see ITRD E122906.