April update on the Teddington Launch Lock refurbishment project

Last month, the project successfully dewatered Teddington Launch Lock enabling the Environment Agency (EA) to inspect the structure and plan the necessary refurbishment works.

As part of the dewatering activity, the EA worked with ecologists FiveRivers who carried out electro-fishing to safely remove any fish from the works area. They translocated an estimated 5,000 fish from the lock, across 11 fish species. To safely remove the fish, they were placed into oxygenated holding tanks and then released back in the River Thames at a suitable location.

The project has also completed further inspections and carried out a 3D scan of the dewatered lock chamber. These inspections and scans indicate that the lock chamber and walls require additional strengthening to bear loads during operation. This additional work is essential to avoid potential structural failures and risks to public safety and will unfortunately add time to the construction programme.

The project team are working hard to reduce this delay and are still aiming for the launch lock to be open towards the end of the boating season. Use of the Teddington Barge Lock will continue throughout construction to maintain navigation.

Further updates on the work will be available on the EA's Thames Area Asset page.

If you have any questions about the works, please email the project team on enquiries_thm@environment-agency.gov.uk.