Volume Ten - Pre-Victorian to the Present Day - Even more aspects - Investigation into the Condition of the Ely River Subway 1991 . . .

CONCLUSIONS :

The length of Subway that remains is in surprisingly good condition considering its recent history and reopening the Subway should be considered as a viable proposition.

The cast iron rings forming the tunnel lining, whilst badly surface corroded, have not suffered significant loss of section.

Many of the bolts used to lock the rings and segments together have corroded and would require replacement.

The floor of the Subway is in excellent condition throughout.

Water ingress through the tunnel lining was slight and the total prevention of infiltration would not prove insurmountable.

The size of the pump, located at the mid-point of the Subway, and the associated discharge main would not indicate that infiltration of water was ever a major problem. Indeed it would appear that the pump would only have been used to empty the Subway's sump which collected surface water run-off.

Should the Subway be reopened replacement toll houses are required. The one remaining toll house is dilapidated and unserviceable.

The only live service in the Subway is an 11kV electricity cable. We have contacted South Wales Electricity and reported on the condition of the apparatus.

The backfill to the "closed-off" and of the subway does not appear to have been compacted or prevented in any way from advancing into the Subway. Should a slippage (crew??) occur, appreciable settlement would result in the vicinity of Penarth Dock Road on the Penarth Haven site.