On October 21, the Chesterfield Canal gained an impressive landmark in Staveley when the new Trans Pennine Trail bridge was lowered into place.

This magnificent structure is 38 metres long and weighs about 40 tons. It replaces a brick bridge on what was originally the Great Central Railway. The old bridge was knocked down about thirty years ago and since then users of the Trail have had to go on a zig-zag up and down route. They will now be able to go straight over the new bridge.

The project has been managed by the Chesterfield Canal Trust. It is the first phase of a £6 million canal restoration scheme. Most of the money will come from the Staveley Town Deal, a £25.2 million investment in Staveley through the Government’s Towns Fund, covering ten projects in all.

O’Brien Contractors readied the site and installed the massive bearing structures. CTS Bridges delivered the two halves of the bridge on 8th October. These were welded together and painted before the final lift took place. The rest of the earthworks and finishing works will now be completed ready for the bridge to be opened to the public before the end of October.

O’Brien Contractors Director, Tony Mitchell commented, “The installation of the bridge marks the continuing works towards the reinstatement of the Chesterfield Canal and O’Brien Contractors are proud that we have been able to contribute to this.”

Ivan Fomin, Chair of the Staveley Town Deal, said: “This is not only a huge milestone for the Chesterfield Canal Trust but also for the Staveley Town Deal. Work to restore the Canal is one of our key projects and will help attract more visitors and improve outdoor facilities for residents. There has a been a lot of hard work to get to this point and I want to thank all the staff and volunteers at the Trust for their efforts.”

Next year, a length of canal will be reinstated under the bridge along with a new lock and another accommodation bridge at the bottom of Bellhouse Lane. There will also be a pumping system and Bellhouse Basin will be restored. The towpath will be upgraded to a multi-user trail, stretching over two kilometres all the way across the Doe Lea Valley to Renishaw.

Finally, the whole area will be planted with wildlife friendly vegetation and a seating area will be installed for people to enjoy the tranquillity of the newly restored canal. You will be able to follow the progress of the works as they happen by going to the Chesterfield Canal Trust’s website.

Rod Auton, Publicity Officer for the Chesterfield Canal Trust, said: “This is an incredibly important achievement for the Trust. It proves to our supporters and to potential funders that we can take on huge engineering challenges and bring them to fruition. We owe a great debt of thanks to our Development Manager, George Rogers, who has been working on the whole project for four years, and to Jon Lindley of Beyond consultants who has managed the bridge project with O’Brien’s.”