Today, RJ and Kasher were trying to solve problems exacerbated by the recent heavy rain.
Task 1 was on Back Lane, Tod 031, near Pex Tenements. Last Friday, the team had worked on shoring up the path at the bottom of this lane (see previous Blog) but subsequent heavy rain had caused blockages in the ditch alongside the path so that water flowed down parts of the path before finding its way back into the drainage ditch.
We have cut back along the ditch and have cleared the water course of large stones washed from the adjacent wall and pathway. We also removed a backlog of silt and vegetation. The shoring we completed last Friday seems to have withstood the rains although some of the larger boulders on the clough side of the shoring had been washed away. These were replaced and some silt/small stones from the clough were used to fill-in the path above.
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| Water flowing down the path . . . . . . and not in the ditch where it belongs! |
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| We have cleared the ditch adjacent to the path. |
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| RJ working in the ditch. |
Task 2 was to stabilise a wooden bridge on the moor above Daisy Bank Farm and Laneside in Blackshaw Head. This bridge is on BS 044. It had been rescued earlier in the year after being washed downstream in the previous winter storms and then repositioned in what we hoped would be a water-free zone . . . . but we were wrong!
When we went to check a number of bridges and boardwalks on Sunday after last week's rain this repositioned bridge was judged to be in danger of being undermined by waters coming down from a drainage system (not CROWS work) that had been altered.
We have installed more, long, anchoring stobs and ensured the bridge was firmly attached (with hex-head screws) to the bearers. The bridge is now as flood resistant as we can make it!
We also used a couple of nearby sandbags in an attempt to redirect the water from the culvert into the recently installed (not CROWS work) drainage pipe. Unfortunately the pipe does not seem to have a diameter compatible with the volume of floodwater that may be expected down this culvert.
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| Water from the culvert (on LHS) flowing down near the left hand corner of the bridge. |
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| The stonework under this section of bearer has been washed away. |
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| RJ adding stobs to anchor the bridge even more securely. |
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| The stobs were then screwed to the bearers and to the stringers. |
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| The secured bridge. |
Today's work was funded by Todmorden Town Council (for the work on Back Lane) and by Blackshaw Head Parish Council (for the work above Daisy Bank). Many thanks for your continuing support. It is much appreciated.
