The Caen Hill flight of locks near Devizes is to re-open to the public today despite a £500,000 programme of maintenace being unfinished as a result of the January freeze.
The decision to open them was taken after discussions between British Waterways, local boat operators and canalside businesses.
“we have decided that rather than extend the closure and potentially upset people’s holiday plans the remainder of the works will take place in the winter,” said Mark Stephens, British Waterways’ manager of the Kennet and Avon Canal.
The locks have been closed to boaters and people using the towpath since January.
British Waterways could not complete the replacement of the gates because of the freezing weather at the beginning of the work.
Mr Stephens said: “We had aimed to replace 16 lock gates in this period but we were unable to start works on site as planned, due to the canal being completely frozen for nearly two weeks in January.
“The team have been working extremely hard and have managed to replace 12 gates and carry out the essential maintenance to the lock chamber walls while the flight was drained.”
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