The work carried out to date by the Office of Public Works in connection with the Grand Canal has consisted mainly of repair and reconstruction of the 200 year old fabric of the canal and associated structures. New lock gates have been manufactured and installed, lock chambers repaired, embankments strengthened and reconstructed, bridges and aquaducts repaired, and water supply channels, overflows and culverts cleaned and, where necessary, re-instated. Sections of the canal have been dredged, banks and towpaths cleared and in the Dublin area a large number of trees have been planted along the banks. Two new lockhouses have been built and the Naas branch of the canal has been re-opened. Major programmes for control of aquatic weeds, monitoring of water quality and development of fish stocks have also been put in hands.
Total expenditure by the Office of Public Works on the Grand Canal from 1 July 1986, the date on which the canal was taken over from CIE, to the end of 1990 was of the order of £9 million. This figure includes the cost of routine maintenance and operation of the canal and the cost of reconstructing the section near Edenderry where a major breach occurred in 1989.
In 1988 a management and development strategy for the Grand and Royal Canals and Barrow Navigation prepared by consultants was adopted and published by the Commissioners of Public Works. This forms the basis for current planning for the canal. Design work is in hand within the Office of Public Works for a waterways interpretative centre in the Grand Canal Dock and for upgrading the Office of Public Works property as a public amenity adjacent to the sea locks in Ringsend.
To date all detail design work in connection with the canal has been done by Office of Public Works staff with some assistance from consultants.
The booklet giving details of the Office of Public Works projects included in the 1991 City of Culture programme which I launched last week includes further details of projects and events planned for the Grand Canal.
