| AdminHistory | This extension to the Dudley Canal, runs from Parkhead Junction, with the Dudley Canal Line No.1, to Coombeswood. The canal originally went on to join the Worcester & Birmingham Canal at Selly Oak, Birmingham, via the 3,795 yard long Lappal Tunnel. This section of the canal is today closed |
| The Lapal Tunnel, on the Dudley No. 2 Canal, was completed in 1798, and at 3795 yards (2.2 miles) long, (and 7 ft 9 in wide) it was the third longest canal tunnel in England and Wales. Its eastern portal is in the south-west Birmingham district of California, with its western portal in the Lapal district of Halesowen. The tunnel was abandoned in 1917 due to lack of repairs that caused its eventual disintegration and collapse in places. Inveitably, the surrounding waterways that used the tunnel also fell into disrepair, until they were finaly decommissioned in 1953. The tunnel is now being subject to modern restoration schemes aimed at re-gaining access to the tunnel and general improvements to the tunnel's structure. |