Huddersfield Narrow Canal Bridge 44a – Slaithwaite, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 37.322 W 001° 52.937
30U E 573926 N 5942051
This road bridge on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal had to be built when the canal was re-opened and the in-filled channel excavated.
Waymark Code: WMFZBG
Location: Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 12/22/2012
Views: 2
This canal is one of three that crosses the Pennine Hills and built to provide transport between Huddersfield in Yorkshire and Ashton-Under-Lyne in Lancashire.
Work started on it in 1794 and partly due to the need to construct the longest canal tunnel in the United Kingdom it was completed 17 years later in 1811.
Although in the early days the canal was profitable, competition from railways and roads meant that it had closed by 1944.
During the 1970s leisure boating in the U.K. had become popular and there were various campaigns to re-open canals that had lain derelict for a number of years.
Work on restoring this canal started in 1981 and was completed in 2001. In urban settings such as the centre of the town of Slaithwaite parts of the canal had been totally filled in and built over. A number of bridges in Slaithwaite were rebuilt using funding from the Millennium Commission Lottery Fund.
Before the year 2000 this location marked the end of the navigable part of the remains of the canal at the west of the town. From here to the eastern end of the town the canal had been filled in and covered over.
When work started on the renovation it was necessary to dig out the channel of the canal and build this new bridge using a pre-formed concrete culvert .
The new bridge is relatively narrow because the tow path does not go under the bridge, but stays on the outside of the bridge.
The keystone on each side of the bridge has the year 2000 carved into it and on the east wall of the bridge is a millennium commission lottery plaque.
Related web site: [Web Link]
Can you tell us who created the item: British Waterways
Condition of the item: Great
So what did YOU do for the millennium?: Attended a party
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Visit Instructions:To record a visit to a Millennium Waymark, please:
Take a photo of the item during your visit.
Describe your visit and what you thought about the item.
Please also mention what you personally did to mark the new Millennium. Was it a night to remember?