THE MAIN construction work on the Salisbury River Park project is anticipated to be completed by the end of the year following a series of delays.  

One delay has been the weather which has resulted in working in wet muddy conditions. 

Salisbury River Park Project Lead, Andy Willis said: "I have just been wandering around the site ankle-deep in mud, and normally, in August we worry about dust."

Salisbury Journal: Aerial viewAerial view (Image: EA)

The river levels have been increasingly high this year. 

Andy added: “It is not down to us. It is just a unique situation. I have never experienced this before where we have continual high flows combined with weed growth – the very important water crowfoot. Clean high flows have been absolutely perfect. Normally, we expect this to die back but it is holding the water levels and is amazing for ecology, but we just wouldn’t expect it to happen.

“We still have to go into the water in places or having to dig into very wet areas and we are having to pump more, and never envisaged we would still need them.”

The team has recently been given permission to work at the weekends. 

Andy said: “A huge amount is going on here. We are really flying at the moment. We have moved to weekend working, and that really does help us to speed up. We only have a certain number of weeks in the year, to work in the river channels – July to October due to fish migration or spawning happening in the remainder of the year."

Salisbury Journal: River ChannelRiver Channel (Image: EA)

The walk along the footpath by the river will remain closed until the autumn months. The project on this stretch depended upon cable work being completed by BT. This led to a delay of six months. 

Andy said: "We would have been able to open the footpath much earlier but it didn't impact the other elements of the project though so doesn't impact our overall completion date."

Once work was able to begin on this section, the old bridge was demolished and work began on the new bridge.  

The flood protection work on the river channel will be completed in about two weeks' time. 

The river channel has been specifically designed to provide a much wider floodplain although the river itself will be fairly narrow. When water levels increase, it will simply widen out into the purpose-built area. 

The channel will have a red clay base with yellow stones covering it, and the sides will be gravelled. Finally, a chalky flint will be placed on top.  Then, the visual aspects of the project begin. 

Planting will take place throughout September and October.

Andy said: “We will have everything from ornamental planting through to hedgerows, various shrubs, some mature trees, and marginal planting.”

 

Salisbury Journal: Retaining wall ramp for footpath and cyclesRetaining wall ramp for footpath and cycles (Image: EA)

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Alongside the central car park, there will be two footpaths. The lower footpath is designed to flood at times.

Andy said: "We wanted to have a section of path that was at a lower level to enable people to get closer to the river during normal conditions. It will be relatively infrequent that it floods, but it is designed to cope with this through the surfacing of it." 

Salisbury Journal: New Bridge at Millstream ApproachNew Bridge at Millstream Approach (Image: EA)

Minor work will begin on the mill stream afterwards with the creation of some little burns - low gravel areas which will improve it environmentally. 

Andy said: “With these chalk streams, you want some reasonably fast-flowing water through it and then it keeps all the gravel clean, if the river is widened and slow-moving, there will be silt. At lower levels, it will keep it nice and clean.”

Salisbury Journal: Excavation of different levels of the river parkExcavation of different levels of the river park (Image: EA)

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 “We are on track to be fully open in the spring, with the majority of the work done by the end of the year, and there will be planting over winter. The construction work should be pretty much done."

Salisbury Journal: Main weir being constructedMain weir being constructed (Image: EA)

The road under the railway bridge is closed to drivers and there is a sign-posted route to divert traffic through the construction site instead.

Andy added: “There are some things that could still hold us up. We are reliant on SSE Energy Services to do a diversion for us. They have to divert a high-voltage cable that runs alongside the railway line. It has to be done in a way that does not disrupt Salisbury's power supply.

"We don't know how long the SSE diversion will take. It was due to be completed in September, but a new date is yet to be provided. This will have a knock-on impact on other parts of the project." 

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The main work next year will be on the coach park.

Andy said: “This is joint with Wiltshire Council. The coach park will be turned into a drop-off space only for people to get on or off the coaches. There will be an information board and some planting. The park will also be raised above flood levels.

“There will be 13 layover coach spaces in the central car park. This is where the construction site is currently."

There will also be areas to park bicycles. 

The project has been intensive. 

Andy said: “This project has been a major part of my life for about seven years, and by the time I finish it, I guess it will be about 8 years, so in some ways, it will be hard to let it go. But I will pop back to see it every so often. It is one of the really nice bits of the work I do where I can say, I helped make that.”