South Kyme

After the reopening of Bottom Lock in November 1986, the society turned its attention to blockages in South Kyme. There were two main problems, the first being a low footbridge in the village and the second was a farm Bailey bridge to the west of the village.

After some negotiations with Lincolnshire County Council the footbridge was raised by two feet to allow the passage of boats. Works on the bridge were made more complicated due to the fact that there was an electricity cable supported by the bridge. Work to raise the bridge was completed in January 1988 at a cost of £4800 some of the money came from Society Funds with the remainder from a North Kesteven District Council grant. The electrical cable was moved the following month, costing £1400, again partly funded by a grant from the District Council.

Although not a problem to navigation, Town Bridge, the next bridge in South Kyme had been surveyed by Lincolnshire County Council and found to be weak. Accordingly this was rebuilt in the summer of 1989 to modern standards.

The Bailey bridge to the west of South Kyme was the next bridge to receive attention, again being a serious obstruction to boats. After negotiation with the owner, agreement was reached to raise the bridge sufficiently to allow boats passage. Help was sought from local groups and in March 1990 EMWRG and KESCRG came together one weekend to raise the bridge.