More than a mile of canal through Wester Hailes on the outskirts of Edinburgh was filled in when the housing estate was built, leaving a gap between Dumbryden Road next to Hailes Park, and Calder Crescent near the Edinburgh City Bypass road. Since August 1999, work has been going on to put the canal back through Wester Hailes again.

The work is being carried out in two phases. Phase 1, which covers the stretch of canal westwards from Wester Hailes Road, is now complete. It involved recutting about half a mile of canal and building two new bridges - a large concrete bridge to carry the Wester Hailes Road dual carriageway, and a footbridge at the point where the new canal meets the old. The photos below show the work that was done.

The canal coming in from the west previously disappeared at this unremarkable spot near Calder Crescent.

By 28/1/2000 when this photo was taken, work to reinstate the canal was well underway. This photo looks towards the terminus in the previous picture from the then partially completed Wester Hailes Road Bridge. So far, the water in it is just accumulated rainwater, but soon this new cut will form a navigable channel.

The biggest task of phase 1 of the canal reinstatement has been the construction of a new bridge to take Wester Hailes Road, a dual carriageway, over the canal. This picture shows the bridge on 3/3/2000. The number on its keystone says 7, which was the number of an original bridge that stood here before the canal was filled in.

This photo shows the end of the new section of canal, at the point where it will join the existing canal near Calder Crescent. A new footbridge has been constructed here. Photographed on 3/3/2000.

By late 2000, phase 1 of the reinstatement was complete. This picture, taken looking west from bridge 7 on 29/3/2001, shows the completed canal, rewatered and reconnected with the original canal on the west side.

Click here to read about Wester Hailes phase 2

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