 To help secure the canal 's future , in 1987 the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal Society was formed . Despite the aforementioned problems , on 21 October 2005 British Waterways announced funding from European Objective Two Funding , the Northwest Regional Development Agency ( <unk> ) and Salford City Council for a restoration scheme at the newly named Middlewood Locks in Salford , which began in September 2006 . Restoration was halted briefly by the discovery of what was initially thought to be a Second World War bomb but which proved to be a wartime American mortar with no explosive content . <unk> for the tunnel under the Manchester to Preston Line were completed in 2008 . The missing Irwell towpath bridge , known as Bloody Bridge , which once crossed the canal 's entrance , was replaced with an arched timber structure incorporating elements of the old lock 1 . Much of the canal 's existing masonry has been re @-@ used and , where possible , the original <unk> were grouted and pointed . The original river locks 1 and 2 were replaced by a single deep lock . 
