Editorial

Our canal is a hive of activity, and the works are in full swing throughout its length, so this newsletter is largely devoted to the works in progress.

All major construction projects have to face difficulties, often causing delays, and the works between the Deûle and the Escaut are no exception.

But the dynamic of regeneration is under way! Despite the inconvenience caused by the works, there is a sense of expectation in the air, and it is reassuring to feel the enthusiasm generated in all sectors of the population by the prospect of the waterway coming back to life.

The educational project has received a very positive response from teachers (see under “Focus on schools”). Despite the constraints they have to put up with, people in the canal corridor are impatient to see it back in use. Former boatmen and private boat owners have already enquired about the possibility of having permanent moorings on the canal. The association of boat owners at Wambrechies have visited the work site, and look forward to week-end cruises on the canalised river Marque and beyond. Public and private investors are already realising impacts on land and property values, and expect this trend to be accentuated once the canal has reopened.

But however successful the project may be within the Deûle-Escaut corridor what is even more encouraging today is the spirit of transnational exchange around this landmark waterway restoration project. The understanding between local stakeholders and European waterway users (in the first place, UK boat owners) dates back many years, but the ties are strengthening month by month thanks to all the actions undertaken during this project.

Your reactions and opinions would be most welcome, and will be taken into account in our next newsletter, to be issued in April 2007.

David EDWARDS-MAY

Inland waterways expert
coordinator of communication and events for the Blue Links partners

 
other European canal projects which may be reinforced by the Blue Links experience

The Oginski Canal
(Belarus)

The Canal de la Haute-Colme and its extension in Flanders (FR - BE)

The Dalsland-Halden Canal link (SE - NO)

The Ulster Canal
(Ireland - UK)

> See on the site our map which identifies other European projects

 
Inauguration of the "bow-hauler" statue at Estaimpuis,
in September 2006

Works update

Locks

On the French side, all the locks have been restored! The semi-automatic control system is in place, and the locks are already in operation for transporting the dredging spoil to the disposal site. On the Belgian side also, the three locks have also been fully restored. The old lock-gates, with their seriously decayed timber members, have been replaced by steel gates. Installation of the semi-automatic control systems started in the summer of 2006.

Leers Nord lock, before and after installation of the new gates

Canalside paths

Deep-rutted muddy paths and the need for boots are now things of the past!  Many sections of the towpath have been restored. Both the Tourcoing and Croix branches have been completed, as well as the entire length of the canalised river Marque. Now ramblers, cyclists and horse-riders can use attractive paths made with compacted sand.

Well-protected banks

During the summer and autumn of 2006, VNF carried out protection work on the banks of the Leers pound, continuing the work up the Escaut side towards the summit level. The entire 13km-long bank restoration project was designed to create a 'biological corridor' using two basic techniques, one based on helophyte fascines and braided willows, and the other using a mixture of materials (timber piling and rockfill planted with helophytes). The hard-edged quays will be restored without being planted, as will the dry masonry walls on the first two pounds of the Roubaix Canal. The masonry walls have been left unjointed, so that grass will be able to grow between the stones. A natural appearance will gradually develop.

Filter basins: the diggers have a ball! 

Work started in August 2006 on the site of the future filter basins, covering an area of 3 hectares . The project is based on a series of 9 gravity-fed filter basins. Water will discharge from the Grimonpont treatment plant into the top basin. It will then take a total of 7 days to cascade through to the bottom basin. The initial phase, including installation of the impermeable lining, will last until March 2007. Planting will then begin. > more

One of the 9 filter basins with the lining in place (autumn 2006).

A new pump unit for the canal's pumping station ("Usine Elévatoire")

The canal's former source, the "Usine élévatoire" (pumping station) in Lille, is not ready to give up the ghost! It will keep serving for a few more years thanks to VNF's investment of almost 200 000 euros (separate from the Blue Links budget), to replace the existing pump, which risks breaking down during the dredging operations. A regular water supply is essential for locking through the barges. Barge traffic will be particularly intense for 18 months, as dredged sediment is removed and bank protection works are carried out. Any interruption in traffic could seriously delay the works. The water supply must therefore be reliable.

VNF’s engineer Antoine Sion is confident in the performance of the new pumped water supply: “The underwater pump units installed at each lock are among the most reliable on the market. The combination of the two water supply systems during the first few years will allow us to test the entire system and also to refine our operating procedures under optimum conditions”.

Dredging: the major operation in 2007

On 30th June 2006, after numerous technical studies, the question of the disposal sites and the actual conditions for depositing canal sediments on the PCUK wasteland was resolved when an agreement was reached by the current owner of the land l’Etablissement Public Foncier (EPF), the previous owners Rhodia and future site managers LMCU. The contract was signed on 13 September 2006. Preparatory work on the land, including the creation of drainage networks and watertight compartments, was carried out in autumn 2006. > more

Bridges

The bridge de la Vigne has been completed and the reception tests approved. The next bridge to be restored will be the canal's only swing bridge, Le Fontenoy, in Roubaix. > see the other bridges

Mooring facilities under way 

VNF is studying different types of mooring facilities and has gladly taken on board the recommendations of the Blue Links expert group on the subject. After taking into account the expectations of the boat owners, both directly and by means of experts in the field, two mooring solutions were submitted to the project’s steering committee. The programme consists of installing mooring points upstream and downstream of the movable bridges and certain locks.

Work making good progress in Belgium

On this side of the border the project is complex because the match funding has a fixed upper limit, with no possibility of injecting additional funds. Nevertheless, the Wallon Ministry of Public Works (MET) has recently confirmed its commitment to carry out the works as defined in the initial programme.

The very rusty Mauroy lift-bridge has been repainted and will be replaced in 3 or 4 years' time. In the meantime, steel plate reinforcements have been added. The deck of the Centre lift-bridge, in an even worse state, had to be replaced, involving an extra cost of €50 000. Finally, the Petit Preux lift-bridge will be left open, and not available for use by road traffic, for several years.
There will be three moorings on the Espierre canal: at Saint-Léger and both upstream and downstream of Leers lock. Work on the Maison du Canal will begin in spring 2007.

Voix d’eau

Roots in the canal

Hearing Rogère Duquesne talk about her attachment to the Roubaix canal is like opening an illustrated history book containing a beautiful life story. Rogère Duquesne should have been born, as her sisters were, on a boat, but in 1944 war determined otherwise and she ended up being born on dry land. However, granddaughter and daughter of bargemen, she made up for this by passing the first 11 years of her life on the canals. > more

Focus on… schools

Schools support canal events

Jo CARGO is a former boatman who often traded on the old canal. Always a dreamer, an occasional artist and clever with his hands, Jo CARGO made hundreds of objects, some quaint, others practical, with all sorts of bits and pieces he found on the cut. He collected these objects in old wooden trunks. However one very windy day, all his explorer’s trunks fell into the water, scattering his belongings, his artefacts and his letters. Jo Cargo lost everything: his treasures, his secrets, his memories. Thanks to the work carried out to restore the canal for navigation, we have found all his trunks… empty of course. Now it’s up to the school pupils to reconstruct the contents of the trunks in memory of old Jo and of the old canal. > read the article

Here and there

Study trip to England

A French-Belgian delegation made up of elected officials, engineers and journalists connected to the Blue Links project paid a visit to England on 28-29 August 2006. The aim was to uncover the secrets of the restoration and development of historic canals in this country. > read the account

The project's experts are on the case!

Aiming for a reference manual of value for all restoration projects and management of heritage canals

The Blue Links project benefits from the input and advice of around thirty experts who will become increasingly involved in 2007. The project made good use in July 2006 of environmental expertise provided by Professor John Eaton, expert in the restoration of disused canals from the University of Liverpool's Faculty of Biology. The historian Bernard Le Sueur, author of several reference works on inland navigation, will shortly submit his proposals on a museum to a special working group. The experienced navigators Annemarie Van Oers and Di Murrell have also contributed their thoughts on the future use of the canal and on mooring facilities. One task set for the group of experts is to gather together the results of all these efforts in a way that they can be used all over Europe, even as far as Belarus where the restoration of the Ahinski Canal begins this year. A draft reference manual was presented to the steering committee on 20 December 2006. This document, which will be compiled and updated until the end of the project, will be a bilingual presentation of the results of all the work carried out.
On the subject of the canal, John Eaton commented in September 2006: "The Roubaix Canal is one of the most interesting waterways I have seen and I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to see the canal and the restoration work on it".

What's on

Shortly, the full programme

Our third newsletter (April 2007) will include a list of events that will take place along the canal during the 2007 season.

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