A MAJOR two-month clean-up of the Dublin city section of the Royal and Grand canals will get under way next week, ahead of the reopening to the Royal Canal to boats from next year.
Waterways Ireland, which is responsible for the maintenance of the canals, is overseeing the €1 million project which will involve dredging both canals to clear them of rubbish and excess silt.
From Monday, the Grand Canal in the south of the city will be closed from Lock 1 at Grand Canal Dock to Lock 5 at Leeson Street Bridge. Dredging will take place on the northside Royal Canal between Lock 1 at the North Strand Road Bridge and Lock 6 at Cabra.
The work is due to finish by the end of the year and there may be some intermittent disruption to traffic caused by lorries transporting the debris from the canals. Any disturbance will be kept to a minimum Waterways Ireland said.
The Grand Canal is navigable but is becoming impassible because of the build-up of debris, Waterways Ireland senior engineer Stephen Forrest said.
