A WALKWAY is to be erected next to a collapsed section of Chester’s Roman Walls to reinstate the circuit allowing people to see repair work in progress.
The platform, on the outside of the Walls adjacent to the Grosvenor Hotel, is expected to be in place within the next few weeks.
The council had to close a 30-metre section, parts of which date to medieval and Roman times, after last April’s collapse.
A team of surveyors, engineers and archaeologists has been working since then to resolve the situation.
Stabilisation work has included installing props and anchors to support the internal face of the wall to stop any further risk of immediate collapse.
As part of this work, scaffolding has been erected to allow access onto the site for the workers who will reconstruct the Walls.
Laser scanning and a radar survey of the affected section have also been carried out to help experts better understand the reasons for the collapse and predict any weak spots in adjoining sections.
This information and the results of other structural surveys will be used to develop proposals for the dismantling and reconstruction of the damaged section, which will use as much existing masonry as possible.
The restoration work is due to begin soon with archaeologists recording the position and structure of the Wall as it is dismantled and rebuilt.
A diversionary route is in place for pedestrians and the site is patrolled by community safety wardens and police.
The local authority and English Heritage are also working on a programme to remove weeds and other vegetation from the rest of the two-mile ancient monument and visitor attraction during 2009.
