Construction at Teddington Launch Lock is progressing well, with the Environment Agency (EA) and Bam Nuttal completing ground investigations and starting temporary works in the lock chamber.

 This preparation allows for dewatering the lock and further investigations before repair work begins. The EA has installed a stop log barrier at the upstream end, enabling the removal and refurbishment of the upstream lock gates, which were transported via barge to Ham Street Car Park.

Contractors face challenges due to unusually low river tides, which allow work only during high tide. After removing the upstream gates, the team began installing propping throughout the lock chamber. Once propping is complete, the downstream gates will be removed for refurbishment, and a stop log barrier will be installed at the downstream end.

 Further investigations will follow before complete repair works commence. The EA expects the Launch Lock to reopen for navigation in Summer 2026. While construction is underway, the Thames path near Teddington Lock and Ham Street car park will be rerouted for a limited time. Still, navigation will continue as usual since the Teddington Barge Lock will stay open.

Teddington Lock, a complex of three locks and a weir on the River Thames between Ham and Teddington in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, was first built in 1810.

 Historically part of Middlesex, it marks the boundary of the Port of London Authority’s legal powers and the Environment Agency’s. The weir, Teddington Weir, marks the river’s usual tidal limit and is the lowest on the Thames.

The lock complex includes a conventional launch lock, a large barge lock, and a small skiff lock. The barge lock accommodates long barges, steamers, or passenger ferries and features additional gates for quicker operation with shorter craft. The structures incorporate two reinforced narrow islands, with the upper peninsula accessible via the lock gates or Teddington Lock Footbridge.

 

 

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