Members of the Medway River Users Association (MRUA) complimented the Mackley project team on a visit to a lock refurbishment scheme on a stretch of the river near Maidstone in Kent.
Mark Smurthwaite, Chairman of the MRUA, said members who visited the East Farleigh Lock project ‘unanimously agreed’ it was very informative, describing the project as ‘well orchestrated’.
The MRUA was formed in 1968 after floods ravaged the Medway valley – destroying homes, businesses, property and lives. The MRUA continues to lobby the authorities responsible for the river and its surrounding environment, to ensure essential maintenance is carried out.
The programme of major refurbishment works at East Farleigh Lock on the River Medway is being carried out by Mackley working as part of Team Van Oord and on behalf of the Environment Agency.
The works began in August 2016 and are essential to ensuring this important stretch of the Medway can continue to be used by commercial and private boats.
Since then, the lock has been dewatered and extensive temporary works have been installed to support the existing structure, which is more than 100 years old.
In January 2017, Mackley announced that it was making good progress on the lock refurbishment project.
Due for completion in May 2017, the next phase of the project involves the installation of a new reinforced concrete skin within the lock itself, while at the same time the existing lock gates will be refurbished on dry land by specialist contractors.
21 February 2017
