writeonwater

As can be seen from the archive list on the right, this blog has not been posted since September last year. This shot taken on 22 January 2008 shows some of the piling in place at Princes Dock before the reinforced concrete is put down.
This shot taken on 9 January shows that Princes Dock, pictured below in water on 18 December 2007, has now been drained for the start of the construction of the canal lock.
This picture taken on 18 December shows the excavation getting underway of the canal trench crossing St Nicholas Place. The wall of an old demolished building and cobbled surface is just visible crossing the line of the trench.
A final shot of Princes Dock taken on 18 December 2007 before it is drained and the site fencing goes up.
This shot taken on 12 December shows the start of excavation of the canal linking Pier Head with Princes Dock, outlined in the picture below, and at the Liver Building end. The wall of an old building has been uncovered for the archaeologists to record before it is demolished.

This shot taken on 4 December 2007 shows the the line of the canal trench from the Liver building to Princes Dock. This and the tunnel at Mann Island are the final sections linking the North and South waterfront docks.
This picture taken on 22 November 2007 shows the completed tunnel section linking the canal at Pier Head with Mann Island. The new museum can be seen rising in the background.
This shot taken on 26 October 2007 shows the excavation work at Mann Island at the Canning Dock end where the canal will exit. What looks like the remains of substantial old dock wall can just be seen in the middle foreground at right angles to the present dock wall.
This shot taken on 26 October 2007 shows the progress of the canal tunnel leaving Pier Head before completion in December, as recorded in the picture above.
This picture taken on the 26 October 2007 shows the progress of the open canal section in front of the Port of Liverpool building. The old ferry terminal can be seen partly demolished in the background.

Descriptions to follow

Descriptions to follow

This information blog following the building of the Liverpool canal link may have fallen behind but the canal construction is forging ahead. Hopefully the blog will now be brought quickly up to date despite the bugs in Wordpress 2.5. More words and pictures to follow.



This shot taken on 25 October 2007 continues the sequence of the canal tunnel moving from Pier Head to link up with tunnel entering Mann Island. The old Georges Dock wall in front of the tunnel featured in the pictures below has now been removed leaving only a few remains seen behind the digger.

This post brings the progress of the Liverpool Link canal construction up to date with pictures taken in September. Most of the activity now relates to the ongoing building of reinforced concrete tunnels and open basins at Pier Head and linking these up with the tunnel that enters the Mann Island site. It is the the Mann Island end which is now of more interest because of the new excavations which inevitably uncover the remains of the old dock systems, and these are featured in the pictures below, as ever shot from a distance through fences and hoardings. Hopefully Oxford Archaeology are doing justice to this totally exceptional maritime archaeology and that one day we will see a little more of Liverpool’s unique world heritage other than the few pictures presently stuck on fencing and hoardings.

This shot taken on 19 September shows the Canning Dock end of the Mann Island site and the archaeology, which is shown in close up in the picture below. The canal link having crossed Mann Island will enter Canning Dock at this point.

This picture taken on 19 September shows the further excavation of the Mann Island site and the clear emergence of what looks to be an old dock system.

This shot of the Mann Island site taken on 12 September, and those above, shows the archaeology now being uncovered as the site is cleared and excavated for the new development.

This picture taken on 12 September shows the tunnel leaving Pier Head and the remains of the Chester Dock which lies across its route to link with the Mann Isand section shown below.

This shot taken on 9 September shows the entrance to the canal tunnel at Mann Island. This tunnel is in the process of being linked with the tunnel coming out of the section in front of the Port of Liverpool building, shown in the picture above.

This shot captured from the British Waterways web cam on 11 September shows the northern section (in front of the Liver Building) of the canal contruction. This will eventually be linked with the very first section built which goes under the roadway to the new cruise liner terminal.

This shot captured from the British Waterways web cam on 11 September shows the southern section of the canal construction at Pier Head. The tunnel going into Mann Island, at the top left of the picture, is seen from the other side in the pictures below taken on 10 September

This shot captured from the British Waterways web cam on 11 September shows the progress of the west (middle) section of the canal construction in front of Pier Head.

This picture taken on 10 September is a close up of old dock walls seen in the shot below.

This shot taken on 10 September shows the south end of the tunnel at Pier Head as it enters Mann Island. The excavation of the trench to link it with the section entering the Mann Island Site has uncovered more of the Chester Basin dock walls.

As ever catching up on the progress of the Liverpool Link canal route with pictures taken in August. The work is now concentrated at the section of the route which crosses Pier Head in front of the three Graces and takes a left into the Mann Island site. The British Waterways web cam mentioned in the July 29 post below now gives a birds eye view of this section from three different angles, North South and West. Some of these shots have been downloaded to give a better perspective of the pictures taken at ground level.

This shot taken on 22 August shows the “guide jig” used to put the steel shoring in place for the trench being excavated before work commences on the concrete tunnel section.

This picture taken on 21 August shows the tunnel tunnel section completed at Mann Island previously and opened up again to link with the tunnel from Pier Head shown in the shots below. The reinforced concrete foundations of the new museum can be seen at the top right of the shot.

This shot and the one below taken on 20 August shows the tunnel entering Mann Island from Pier Head.

This picture taken on 20 August shows the other end of the tunnel into Mann Isand featured below. This section is now going to be joined with the section already completed on the Mann Island site and shown in the above picture.

This is a Inland Waterways webcam shot captured on 20 August showing the southern end of the canal excavation at Pier Head. This will be an open section and the left turn into the tunnel entering Mann Island can be seen at the top of the picture

This picture taken on 13 August shows the tunnel section entering Mann Island. This has now been uncovered again as part of linking it to the section constructed at the southern end of the Pier Head route.

This is another shot of the canal tunnel in front of the Cunard Building taken on 13 August and showing the direction more clearly than the picture below.

This is a ground shot taken on 13 August of the canal tunnel construction underway in front of the Cunard Building and featured in the webcam shot shown below on 8 August.

This shot taken on the 8 August is looking across the cleared Mann Island site and towards the northern end of Canning Dock. This is the likely route of the canal which will enter Canning Dock at the spur marked by the pillar in the middle of the picture.

This download from the British Waterways webcam on 8 August gives an aerial view of the West section of the canal construction crossing in front of Pier Head. The West section is the middle part of the route in front of the Cunard Building and will be though a short tunnel.

Just about up to date following the progress of the canal construction with the pictures below taken in July. The canal is being constructed in different sections along the planned route and presumably they will all be joined up at some stage. Check out the Liverpool Link page on this blog for an overview of the route.

This picture taken on 25 July and the one below shows the demolition work and clearing of the site at Mann Island.

This shot of the Mann Island Site taken on 25 July and the one above, shows the start of the site clearance. A canal basin will be constructed in this area as part of the Mann Island development. For an artist’s impression see this blog’s Liverpool Link page.

This picture taken on 25 July shows the progress of the canal section in front of the Port of Liverpool Building. Like the section in front of the Liver Building featured below this part of the canal will also be open.

Another shot taken on 16 July from a different position showing the context of the canal trench in front of the Liver Building. The top of the picture is the route to Princes Dock.

This shot taken on 16 July shows the progress of the canal construction in front of the Liver Building. this section of the canal will be open. For an artist’s impression see this blog’s Liverpool Link page.