Obstructions on Edinburgh to Glasgow Canal Route

Obstructions

The table below lists all the obstructions to navigation on the Union and Forth and Clyde canals, from east to west. It also gives the current projected dates of restoration, and thumb-nail images of some obstructions.

The table is now colour coded. Red indicates an obstruction on which restoration work has not yet begun, blue indicates an obstruction which is currently under restoration, and green indicates a former obstruction which has now been removed.

Some obstructions now have a page of their own, with chronological pictures of the restoration work going on there. Click the links to see pages about:

Union Canal

Name of obstruction	Description	Projected date of restoration	Picture
Leamington Bridge	Derelict lifting bridge	?
Kingsknowe Road	Culvert under road	Completed
Wester Hailes	Over 1 mile of canal infilled	Completed
M8	Culvert under M8 Motorway	Completed
Greendykes Road	Culvert under road	Completed
Vellore Road	Culvert with 4'6" headroom	Completed
A801	Culvert under road	Completed
Falkirk Interchange	Link between canals infilled	Early 2002

Apart from the obstructions listed above, the Union Canal has survived in remarkably good condition since its closure in 1965. The absence of locks or opening bridges has obviously meant that there was less to go wrong with it, and unlike the Forth and Clyde Canal, the water is still at its original level along the whole length of the waterway. All this means that apart from clearing the blockages, the only other major work to reopen the canal will be dredging.

Forth and Clyde Canal

There are no longer any obstructions to navigation on the Forth and Clyde Canal - it was reopened in May 2001. However, I have left the obstructions table here to let people have a glimpse of what the canal was like before its restoration.

Name of obstruction	Description	Projected date of restoration	Picture
Grangemouth	Over 1 mile of canal infilled	Completed
Abbot's Road	Culvert under road in lock 4	Completed
Bainsford Bridge	Culvert under road	Completed
Merer's Bridge	Road built across lock 8	Completed	N/A
Camelon Road	Culvert under road	Completed
Union Road	Road built across lock 16	Completed
Bonnybridge	Culvert with 4' headroom	Completed
Castlecary Bridge	Derelict swing bridge	Completed
A80	Culvert under road	Completed
Wyndford Bridge	Fixed bridge over Lock 20	Completed
Auchinstarry Bridge	Derelict swing bridge	Completed
Twechar Bridge	Derelict lifting bridge	Completed	N/A
Auchendavie Water Main	Pipe crosses canal, only 4' headroom	Completed	N/A
Hillhead Bridge	Derelict swing bridge	Completed	N/A
Townhead Bridge	Culvert under road	Completed	N/A
Cadder	Low bridge	Completed	N/A
Balmuildy Road	Low bridge	Completed	N/A
Cleveden Road	Culvert with 4' headroom	Completed
Great Western Road	600yd infill, including locks 31 and 32	Completed
Duntreath Avenue	140yd infill, including lock 36	Completed
Argyll Road	Low bridge	Completed
Clydebank Footbridge	Low bridge	Completed
Kilbowie Road	Culvert under road	Completed	N/A
Trafalgar Street Footbridge	Low bridge	Completed	N/A
Dalmuir East Bridge	Culvert under road	Completed
Erskine Ferry Bridge	Derelict swing bridge	Completed

Note: the dates given above are provisional only. I'll try to keep them as up to date and accurate as possible, but they are by no means a guarantee of when the blockages will be removed.

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