Steel shortage delays Skipton bridge replacement

摘要

A swing-bridge on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal was finally replaced in early July, two months late and much more expensively thanks to the worldwide post-Covid steel shortage. Passage through Gawflat Swing Bridge had been restricted to booked operation by volunteers and staff only last year, after the opening mechanism failed and was deemed too dangerous for boaters to operate themselves. The Canal & River Trust had wanted to leave it in the open position for the convenience of boaters, since it was a relatively little-used dead-end crossing to Skipton's Airville Park. However, protests from local residents forced their hand, and design and construction of the replacement were sped up. The old bridge, a 1970s-era design common on the Leeds & Liverpool, is being replaced by a new £300,000 version that's promised to be a lot easier to work.